TRO

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Last Tuesday, after oral argument, Judge Buchwald granted a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration concerning the detainment and removal of Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, who is a lawful permanent resident. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for May 20, and the government is barred from detaining her or transferring her out of the Southern District in the meantime.

Ms. Chung filed her complaint last Monday, alleging that the attempted deportation violated her First Amendment rights. Ms. Chung participated in a “sit-in and protest” at Columbia on March 5, 2025, at which she was arrested and “given a Desk Appearance Ticket, . . . a common citation issued by the police at protests.” By March 10, 2025, Ms. Chung’s counsel was notified that her “lawful permanent resident status” was being revoked, and judicial search warrants were executed three days later.

The government is apparently invoking a law allowing for the removal of noncitizens whose presence or activities in the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” as determined by the Secretary of State. Ms. Chung’s brief in support of the TRO argues that it was until recently “preposterous” to think that student protests would trigger this law:Continue Reading Judge Buchwald Grants TRO Preventing Deportation of Columbia Student Protester

On Saturday, Judge Engelmayer granted an application for temporary restraining order filed that day by the Attorneys General of 19 States. They requested that, pending a hearing for preliminary injunction, the Court restrain access by the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) — or others that normally lack access — to the Treasury Department’s “payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees.”

Among the arguments advanced by the Attorneys General is that the Privacy Act of 1974 limits the disclosure of confidential information within an agency to specified persons within that agency, without any authority for disclosure to DOGE staffers or others outside Treasury.

The Court, in granting the temporary restraining order and scheduling a hearing for a preliminary injunction for February 14, agreed with the States that, absent a TRO, there was risk of sensitive information being compromised or the system being vulnerable to hacking:Continue Reading Judge Engelmayer Grants TRO Blocking Access to Treasury Databases

On Wednesday, Judge Vyskocil denied a request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for a TRO enjoining the enforcement of the subpoena issued to Mark F. Pomerantz by Congressman Jim Jordan in his role as Chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary. We previously covered DA Bragg’s TRO and Complaint here.

Before addressing the merits of the TRO request, Judge Vyskocil faulted DA Bragg for filing the order to show cause for the TRO without notice to Defendants and before serving them with the Complaint. She characterized the first 35 pages of the Complaint as “nothing short of a public relations tirade against former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump,” before concluding “that this action is merely a motion to quash a subpoena dressed up as a lawsuit.” Continue Reading Judge Vyskocil Denies DA Bragg’s Request to Enjoin Pomerantz’s Testimony, but Second Circuit Grants Stay Pending Appeal

On Tuesday, Judge Cote granted Google a temporary restraining order against the operators of a blockchain enabled “botnet.”  As the complaint explains, a “botnet” is “a network of internet-connected devices (bots), each of which are infected by malware,” and whose “computing power grows with each new device that is infected.” The complaint describes the particular botnet at issue as a modern version of organized crime:
Continue Reading Judge Cote Grants Google a TRO Against Operators of Malicious “Botnet”

In an opinion this morning, Judge Vyskocil denied an application for a TRO by a Queens Republican who sought to have her name on the ballot for the June 23 primary.  The plaintiff’s complaint was focused on the fact that, due to the spread of COVID-19, New York had reduced the number of days available to gather enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

Judge Vyskocil denied the application because (among other reasons) she found that the State’s interest in controlling COVID-19 met the standard of “reasonable and nondiscriminatory” necessary to justify the shorter time period, particularly given that the State also correspondingly reduced the number of signatures required:
Continue Reading Judge Vyskocil Denies Congressional Candidate TRO Arising from Reduction in Number of Days to Gather Signatures to Appear on Ballot