More Than 200 Former Judges Defend Federal Judge’s Probe into Trump Administration’s Defiance of Court Order to Halt Deportation Flights
August 28, 2026
Bipartisan group of judges argue courts must be able to investigate defiance of their orders, including the government’s failure to halt flights to CECOT, El Salvador’s mega-prison
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan coalition of more than 200 former federal and state judges has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, defending Chief Judge James E. Boasberg’s authority to investigate whether the Trump administration willfully violated a court order by continuing deportation flights to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. Democracy Defenders Fund filed the brief on behalf of the judges.
The group, led by former U.S. Judge Nancy Gertner and Judge Michael Luttig, submitted their brief to the full D.C. Circuit as it considers the government’s request to halt Judge Boasberg’s contempt inquiry. The brief asks the court to uphold the district court’s authority to determine whether Executive Branch officials intentionally defied a Temporary Restraining Order that barred the transfer of detainees to El Salvador.
“The authority of a federal court to determine whether its orders have been obeyed is among the oldest and most firmly settled powers the judiciary possesses,” the brief states.
In April 2025, Judge Boasberg found probable cause that the government had willfully violated his order, and began an inquiry into criminal contempt. Those proceedings were ongoing when the government asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt the proceedings. After a D.C. Circuit panel ruled in the government’s favor, the full D.C. Circuit en banc court has agreed to rehear the case.
The brief argues that Judge Boasberg has appropriately exercised his authority and warns that shutting down the district court’s contempt inquiry would have grievous consequences for the fundamental integrity of the judiciary and the rule of law.
“More than 200 former judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, have come together to defend Judge Boasberg and the very basic constitutional principle of checks and balances,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), executive chair and co-founder of Democracy Defenders Fund. “A court’s order cannot depend on whether the executive branch agrees with it. If an administration can defy court orders, and the courts are powerless to investigate when there’s probable cause of criminal contempt of court, then separation of powers is meaningless and the rule of law cannot be enforced. As this bipartisan group of former judges makes clear, Judge Boasberg did the right thing, and the D.C. Circuit should do the same and allow him to continue his criminal contempt inquiry.”
The filing is here.
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