New Jersey’s attorney general said that states can still secure nationwide blocks against federal policies despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited the scope of such sweeping court orders, signaling continued legal battles over President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship.
In an interview aired on CNN on June 30, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin expressed confidence that states will be able to meet the stricter standard the Supreme Court has set for issuing universal injunctions—orders that block federal policies nationwide.
Platkin pointed to the high court’s June 27 decision, in which the justices ruled that universal injunctions “likely exceed” the powers granted to federal courts by Congress. Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the judiciary’s authority is limited to providing relief only to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit, unless a broader remedy is necessary to afford them complete relief….