Nationwide Injunctions

Location: Lipton Hall in D'Agostino Hall, 110 W. 3rd Street, New York, NY 10012

Date: Monday, October 23, 2023

Cost: Free

This event has been approved for 4.5 New York State CLE credits in the category of Areas of Professional Practice. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional; it is appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys.

RSVP HERE

Nationwide injunctions are playing an increasing role in the American legal landscape.  From the beginnings of the U.S. judiciary until the 1960s, nationwide injunctions were not a feature of our legal system.  Individual federal judges imposed no injunctions barring conduct across the entire nation during that time.  But this has changed.  55 nationwide injunctions were imposed by courts during the presidency of Donald Trump, and the practice continues under the current administration.

Are nationwide injunctions a problem?  Should they be restricted?  If so, how?  Should the federal courts tackle the problem of judge-shopping by reexamining the distribution of cases in a judicial district that includes a division populated by a single judge?

9:00-9:30: Coffee

9:30-11:00 Panel 1: Nationwide Injunctions As Such

How do nationwide injunctions work?  Are they necessary? Are they legally justified? Are they effective in blocking illegal or unconstitutional conduct? Do they cause harms?

The panel will discuss these questions and more, to shed light on whether and how our rules governing nationwide injunctions are working and how they might be improved.

Moderator: Hon. Nicholas Garaufis (United States District Judge, Eastern District of New York)

Panelists:

  • Joanna Lampe (Legislative Attorney, Congressional Research Service)
  • Michael Morley (Professor, Florida State Law)
  • James Tierney (Lecturer, Harvard Law; former Attorney General, Maine)
  • Alan Trammell (Professor, Washington & Lee Law)
  • Jared Trujillo (Professor, CUNY Law)

11:00-12:30 Panel 2: Procedural Complications Surrounding Nationwide Injunctions

What are the factors in our legal system that have resulted in the proliferation of nationwide injunctions?  Are there systemic conditions that allow nationwide injunctions to be abused?  If so, how can we prevent these abuses, and can we do so while maintaining the mechanism of nationwide injunctions?

The panel will examine the current environment in which the imposition of nationwide injunctions has become common, and how our legal system should best address this phenomenon.  

Moderator: Steve Vladeck (Professor, Texas Law)

Panelists:

  • Alexia Korberg (Partner, Paul Weiss)
  • Alex Reinert (Professor, Cardozo Law)
  • Noah Rosenblum (Professor, NYU Law)
  • Hon. W. Louis Sands (Senior United States District Judge, Middle District of Georgia)
  • Kate Shaw (Professor, Cardozo Law)

12:30-1:30 Lunch Conversation

Participants: Hon. Nicholas Garaufis & Steve Vladeck

Judge Garaufis and Professor Vladeck, the moderators of the two panels, will synthesize the panel discussions and highlight the wisdom gained.

This event has been approved for 4.5 New York State CLE credits in the category of Areas of Professional Practice. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional; it is appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys.  CLE readings are available here.

RSVP HERE