Federal Judges — in Rare Interviews — Trash Supreme Court for Overturning Their Trump Admin Cases: ‘They Don’t Have Our Backs’

(Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

Twelve federal judges are speaking out — anonymously — to criticize the Supreme Court for overturning their decisions in Trump administration cases with little to no guidance.

In a series of rare interviews with NBC News, the judges discussed a pattern of the Supreme Court overturning lower court decisions by way of emergency rulings — which, they say, used to be rare but have become increasingly common. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency ruling in 23 cases, and the Court has sided with them in 17 of those instances — often with little or no explanation to back their decisions.

Ten of the 12 judges who spoke to NBC said that the Court should explain their rulings better so that they know how to proceed when the cases get sent back down to them.

“It is inexcusable,” one judge told NBC — speaking about the Supreme Court justices. “They don’t have our backs.”

NBC’s Lawrence Hurley, who wrote the piece, went into detail on the security threats the judges say they are facing, in part because the Supreme Court has hung them out to dry:

“The judge who said the Supreme Court justices are behaving inexcusably has received threats of violence and is now fearful when someone knocks on the door at home.

“If major efforts are not made to address the situation, the judge said, ‘somebody is going to die.’

With tensions so high, four of the judges said they believe the Supreme Court and specifically [John] Roberts, the head of the judiciary, should do more to defend the courts.

The Supreme Court, a second judge said, is effectively assisting the Trump administration in ‘undermining the lower courts,’ leaving district and appeals court judges ‘thrown under the bus.'”

The lower court judges told NBC that they understand getting overturned comes with the territory — but a more comprehensive opinion from the Supreme Court could help calm things down when President Donald Trump or one of his allies attacks them personally.

One judge suggested the Court should, in cases it overturns, should say, “Let’s be clear, it’s not some crazy opinion, and this judge is not a monster.”

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