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'Our Courts, Our Fight' Highlights November Rulings

James Earle Fraser's statue The Contemplation of Justice, which sits on the west side of the United States Supreme Court building, on the north side of the main entrance stairs.
Photo: Matt H. Wade / Wikipedia
Press Release
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People For the American Way
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As part of our efforts to promote qualified Biden-Harris judicial nominees, especially women of color as reflected in our #HerFightOurFight campaign, People For the American Way has continued our research and reporting on the troubling votes and decisions by Trump appellate judges and justices, as well as rulings by Trump district judges that improperly interfere with Biden Administration and Congressional action. Our focus is on the broad, systemic impact of such rulings and opinions, and on how these decisions show the need for prompt confirmation of Biden judicial nominees. Linked below are 14 posts concerning cases from PFAW’s “Our Courts Our Fight” blog series for November 2021.

The November cases suggest several important trends. These include 1) five rulings that severely harmed efforts to combat COVID-19, particularly four decisions blocking important vaccination requirements; and 2) four cases damaging workers’ rights, including three concerning age discrimination against older workers. Specifically:

  • Four different Trump judges issued decisions that completely blocked nationwide Biden Administration vaccine requirements concerning COVID-19. Two Trump appellate judges on the Fifth Circuit froze the requirement that big businesses ensure that workers are vaccinated, while the orders of two different Trump district judges added up to a nationwide block on the mandate that health care workers who deal with vulnerable Medicare and Medicaid patients be vaccinated. An additional Trump appellate judge cast the deciding vote to revoke the COVID-related compassionate release of a Black man.
  • In four cases, Trump appellate judges harmed workers’ rights. In three cases, they approved discrimination against older workers. In another decision, a Trump judge reversed a district court and required workers to arbitrate individually a group’s claims that an employer had violated minimum wage laws.

All these November cases and more, including rulings on police and corporate misconduct,, underline the importance of efforts to counteract harmful votes by Trump judges by confirming fair-minded constitutionalists with a demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights nominated by President Biden as federal judges. Appellate cases have all been entered in our Our Courts Our Fight database, which you can search by judge or by issue.