Supreme Court Justices Issue
Supreme Court Justices Warn Lower Courts: Follow Precedent
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh recently warned lower court judges not to ignore Supreme Court rulings.
“Lower court judges may sometimes disagree with this court’s decisions,
but they are never free to defy them,” Gorsuch wrote in an opinion regarding the Trump administration’s cancellation of nearly $800 million in research grants. Kavanaugh joined in the decision, which overturned a lower court ruling that had blocked the freeze.
Concerns Over Repeated Defiance
Gorsuch noted this was “the third time in a matter of weeks” the Court had to step in because lower courts disregarded its precedents.
He emphasized that when the Supreme Court rules, “it constitutes a precedent that commands respect in lower courts.”
Criticism from Liberal Justices
Not all justices agreed with the majority’s approach. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in dissent, criticized the consistency of rulings favoring the Trump administration, calling it “Calvinball jurisprudence.”
She added, “We seem to have two [rules]: that one, and this administration always wins.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor also voiced concern, writing in a deportation case that the Court was “rewarding lawlessness” and warned, “This is not the f
