Courts have threatened to hold the Trump administration in contempt. It's time to follow through | Austin Sarat

"Schiltz and other federal judges have made such threats before, but they have not followed through. It is time they did, lest they turn their courts into paper tigers. The administration knows what it is doing. It treats judicial decisions the same way it regards elections."

"The latest example occurred in the wake of the supreme court decision holding his imposition of tariffs to be unconstitutional. The president reacted by accusing the justices who ruled against him of being very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. But he didn't stop there. He accused the court of being swayed by foreign interests."

"Trump and his colleagues have made clear their contempt for judges who don't see the constitution and laws the way they do. That's why, almost from the start of the president's second term, his administration has perfected the art of what the law professors Leah Litman and Daniel Deaco"

A Minnesota federal judge documented hundreds of instances where the Trump administration failed to comply with court orders, threatening contempt penalties that have not been enforced. The administration treats judicial decisions with the same disregard it shows elections, viewing outcomes as legitimate only when favorable. Following a Supreme Court ruling against tariffs, the president attacked justices as unpatriotic and accused the court of foreign influence. Attorney General Pam Bondi similarly attacked federal judges in Virginia, calling them rogue judges biased by political views. This pattern demonstrates systematic contempt for judges interpreting law differently, establishing a troubling precedent where the administration ignores unfavorable rulings without consequences.

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