Judge blocks DOJ from canceling grants to American Bar Association for suing Trump administration
A federal judge has temporarily halted teh department of justice’s (DOJ) decision to cancel grants to the American Bar Association (ABA) after the ABA sued the DOJ, contending that the termination of the grants was retaliatory. The judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled that the DOJ’s actions violated the ABA’s First Amendment rights by punishing the institution for participating in legal actions against the Trump administration. The ABA alleged that the DOJ’s withdrawal of approximately $3 million in funding was in direct response to its criticism of the administration’s policies, thereby impeding its ability to engage in activities related to civil litigation, LGBT legal training, and violence against women. The judge’s preliminary injunction allows the grants to continue while the case is ongoing, emphasizing that the injury to the ABA’s First Amendment rights is serious and ongoing.
Judge blocks DOJ from canceling grants to American Bar Association for suing Trump administration
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Justice from canceling grants to the American Bar Association. After the ABA joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration, the DOJ cut a number of grants to the organization — a move the judge ruled was aimed at punishing the organization for exercising its right to petition the courts.
The case came to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper after the ABA sued the DOJ last month in an attempt to challenge the cancellation of the grants. The ABA argued that the DOJ illegally ended five federal grants in retaliation for the organization joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Cooper granted a request from the ABA for a preliminary injunction to halt the government from terminating the grants as the case proceeds.
“The First Amendment injury is concrete and ongoing,” Cooper said in his opinion. “The ABA regularly engages in protected expressive activity, and DOJ’s termination of its grants directly punishes that activity.”
The lawsuit that allegedly prompted the DOJ to cancel the ABA’s grants in February challenged the Trump administration’s freezing of international development funds for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.
In its lawsuit filed after the grants were pulled, the ABA said the DOJ and Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the First Amendment by stopping funding in retaliation for the organization “taking positions the administration disfavors.”
Court filings note several instances when the ABA criticized the Trump administration for appearing to “question the legitimacy of judicial review,” targeting judges who issue “decisions this administration does not agree with,” and “punishing lawyers and law firms who represent certain clients.”
According to court filings, the DOJ’s explanation for terminating its Office on Violence Against Women grants was that the grants were “no longer effectuating ” the department’s priorities.
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The lawsuit alleged that the DOJ terminated the grants, totaling around $3 million, one day after U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a memo barring department attorneys from traveling to or speaking at ABA events. According to legal filings, these canceled grants included money to fund civil litigation skills, LGBT legal training, and violence against women.
The ABA said it had received funding in the form of grants from the DOJ since 1995. These grants have been used to fund training for lawyers and judges dealing with cases related to sexual and domestic violence.
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