Letters to the Editor: Supreme Court’s decision on nationwide injunctions gives Trump too much power

To the editor: The excellent Erwin Chemerinsky op-ed makes it clear that the ideological makeup of the current Supreme Court has again acted on political, rather than constitutional, reasoning (“A stunning and tragic Supreme Court decision,” June 27). The Clarence Thomas-Samuel A. Alito Jr. right-wing court coalition could have simply decided that the 14th Amendment’s clear mandate that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States” meant exactly what it said.

Instead, the conservative wing of the court went out of its way to give President Trump an extraordinary new weapon that strips the lower courts of the right to interpret the constitutional issues of his executive orders on a nationwide basis. Except for difficult class-action suits, it would require 94 separate judicial findings to overturn an unconstitutional Trump mandate on a consistent nationwide basis. Republicans now command the White House, Congress and the ideological right wing of the Supreme Court to foster an authoritarian government never contemplated by our founders.

Ken Goldman, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: Once again, Chemerinsky is never happy when he’s on the losing side. Allowing federal district courts to set national policies is a bit of a political shell game. The conservatives find their favorite federal judge to get what they want, and the liberals do the same.

Do not fret, Chemerinsky. It is the SCOTUS that has always ultimately decided what is constitutional — not the lower courts. All is well.

David Waldowski, Laguna Woods

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To the editor: The Supreme Court sabotaged our justice system in Trump vs. CASA. Without federal injunctions, no one can get reasonable relief from President Trump’s purposely chaotic executive orders. By not ruling on the merits of the 14th Amendment, the court acted as arsonists to the Constitution.

Trump will continue the stampede. He seems to enjoy this. What’s next? Voting rights?

Alberto Gonzales, former attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, was at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Sunday discussing the allowance of more power to the president. He said, “The main concern I have is that I don’t believe that Donald Trump has the integrity necessary to effectively govern, fairly, this country.”

Amy Bennett, Encinitas

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To the editor: “Stunning,” yes. “Tragic,” certainly. How about we also add the word “expected” to the headline?

Gary Abel, Marina del Rey