Before The Law

Before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals motions panel, flushing the reputation of the DOJ...

Judge Parker: Does the govt have a position on whether Öztürk's op-ed was protected speech?

Ensign/DOJ: We haven't taken a position. Not nec. for position below.

Judge Parker: Help my thinking. Take a position.

Ensign/DOJ: Ahh, sorry, not authorized to

...down the gold-plated toilet.

Judge Nathan: So I guess you could say that it's uncontested (that Öztürk's op-ed was protected speech)

Ensign/DOJ: Uhhhhhh

Judge Carney: Maybe more like it's neither contested nor conceded

It didn’t get any better.

Judge Parker to DOJ: So Öztürk would have to appear before immigration judge, wait in backlog of thousands of cases, Board of Immigration Appeals, finally get to federal appeals court before raising her First Amendment claim for the first time?

(This is the one GOP appointee on the panel)

I know you have to be a lawyer to fully appreciate this, but if I’d done that in court, I’d return to the office expecting to find my personal belongings in a box at the front door.🚪 

Besides, the DOJ is just fronting fascism now:

Amid all the other news, it's easy to become inured to the basic facts here. Öztürk:

-Is not accused of committing any crime

-Is nonviolent

-Was in this country legally

-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to

-Has been locked up for six weeks