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Michael Popak
Did Donald Trump and the United States Supreme Court think the public interest groups and law firms defending birthright citizenship weren't going to be at the ready to file a new motion for class certification? A new motion for temporary restraining order to protect birthright citizenship in the wake of just several hours ago the Supreme Court ruling this morning not that birthright citizenship can be changed by executive order, not yet, but that no judge, despite 100 years of precedent, has the power to enforce or to impose a nationwide or universal injunction to oppose a universally unconstitutional decision by Donald Trump that affects every baby born regardless of state? It doesn't matter to the United States Supreme Court, they said you can't do it. Then that way the best you could do would be do it by class action. That's what Kavanaugh said in his dissent or his concurrence, you'll have to do it by class action, which will be the equivalent of an injunction. And so to my OR said, get on your horses, file that class action and ask for a temporary restraining order. And just less than about 90 minutes later, right on cue in front of Judge Boardman in Maryland, the lawyers for that case filed what? A motion for class certification and for temporary restraining order all on packet. I'll break it down the only way I know how without blowing smoke or sunshine here on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF this is a very quick, fast moving story. I just did a hot take up on the network about what happened. And as we anticipated, because Sotomayor is so smart, we knew that already. But we, but once again, Sotomayor says, in effect, here's what she said in her dissent, which exactly matches what just got filed. Those papers were already prepared. I just did another interview with Leah Littman of strict scrutiny up on Legal af and we, we half joked off the talking about the Supreme Court decision that I said, leah, the papers are already drafted, aren't they? She said, yes. And then like an hour later they got filed. Here's what Sotomayor, here's her guidance, here's her little Easter egg in her dissent. Nevertheless, the parents of children covered by the citizenship order would be well advised to file promptly class action suits and to request temporary injunctive relief for the putative class pending class certification. That is exactly to a T what they just did. In fact, when they filed it, they did a little roasting of Kavanaugh because in their paper and their motion for class wide certification and their motion for here's what they said on page two of their motion for classified certification, Justice Kavanaugh's concurring opinion confirms that district courts may, quote, grant or deny the functional equivalent of a universal injunction, for example, by granting or denying a preliminary injunction to a putative national class under 20 rule 23. And Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion notes that the majority leaves untouched while one important tool to provide broad relief to individuals subject to lawless government conduct, Rule 23 class certification for injunctive relief. Thus, the parents of children covered by the citizenship order are well advised to follow my lead, Justice Sotomayor said, And that's what they've done. Let me break it down for you. That's a lot of words. Let's do a legal AF TED talk right now about class certification. It usually comes up and in other contexts, usually products liability cases where people are injured, you know, other types of things where there's an injured class that's very numerous with typical type claims. You know, they have numerosity, we call it. They have typicality, we call it, and therefore they go to federal court not as an individual action, not as an individual lawsuit, but as a putative class action representing a group of people similarly situated. We call that collective action. And collective or class action is governed by a rule of civil procedure. It allows a judge to handle allegations of it could be breach of contract, it could be fraud, it could be constitutional abuse by A president all in one courtroom with one or two or three class plaintiff representatives and a class certified and then grant relief. That's exactly what we just saw with Judge Boasberg, who saw the writing on the wall with the oral AR arguments about this case before the decision came down. And he certified a class of 250 people, all similarly situated, sent to El Salvador in the middle of the night without due process or habeas corpus rights. And then he certified the class, set up a bond, because sometimes you have to put a bond up for this or a surety of a dollar and then issued a class wide injunction, which as we just saw from Justice Kavanaugh and his concurrence, is the equivalent of a nationwide injunction. So you get there eventually. It's just that the ruling, the Supreme Court is reserving for themselves the sole power to declare nationwide a policy procedure or law unconstitutional. They don't want the lower federal courts to do it obviously, but they want to get the issue up to them. And then we're going to have to rely on appellate stays and blocks and Supreme Court stays and blocks in order to make sure that like babies born in red states like right now aren't going to be declared non citizens and cut off from federal funding and other benefits that they get for being citizens and aren't travel. How about if they want to travel out of the country? You know, my baby got a baby passport in the first three months because we were planning on travel. So they're nationless people. And what country they're born here? Answer me, riddle me this, what country are they a part of? Who's going to issue them a passport? Who? Their parents are from Mexico, so Mexico is going to issue them a passport. They're born in a hospital in Massachusetts, in Washington, in Maryland. So right on cue, there's three cases that were the subject of this Supreme Court decision from this morning, literally from Friday morning. Rhode Island, Maryland, Washington State, all three nationwide injunctions now have been paired back to at best an injunction about the three plaintiffs or four plaintiffs that are in front of, that are in front of them or for that particular state. What about the other 47 states? What about the rest of the people? Well now we gotta go through the class action methodology. Gotta file a class action. It's gotta be certified. It's gonna be opposed by the Trump administration. Then we're gonna be off and running on, on an appeal. Once somebody like Judge Boardman, who is going to certify this class in Maryland, they've also asked her at the same time for a temporary restraining order to it to stop the enforcement of the executive order to rip away the birthright citizenship until she's got briefing and a chance to rule. She' said that that executive order is unconstitutional. The question now is about what kind of remedy she can fashion. And the Supreme Court having now taken one major tool out of her toolbox, the tool of nationwide injunctions. So now she's got a rummage around her toolbox looking for something else. I got it. Class actions certification and an injunction around that. That's where we're, that's where we are at now. So kudos to the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in these cases and for them filing so quickly and having at the ready their, their various motions. So they've got the motion for class wide temporary restraining order. They're asking for that to be done immediately. You could see me back up here tomorrow. Talking about whether the judge did or did not enter the temporary restraining order temporarily. At the same time, they're asking the judge to quickly certify the class in join so that we can have, here's, here's the order of operation. She will certify that class. She'll allow briefing, very short track. She'll hold oral argument next several days. She certifies the class along with a temporary restraining order. Now the party on the, on the losing end of that either preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order takes an appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for Maryland. I think that's a good place to start. By the way, 4th Circuit has some amazing judges, most of the moderate, let's say they rule against the Trump administration on now the merits of the case. See, the Supreme Court wasn't dealing with the merits of birthright citizenship, but now the merits of the case are up for grabs. Can Donald Trump by executive order rip out the beating heart of birthright citizenship, yes or no. From the constitution and the 14th amendment that came out of our Civil War reconstruction period. So now that goes to the fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The loser takes it on an emergency application to the United States Supreme Court over the summer. I don't think they're going to do it by an emergency application process where they just have two briefs, no oral argument. I think they have additional briefing. I think they set it for oral argument and then they get around over the summer to hearing the case. They could roll it to the next term. Starts the first Monday in October. That leaves a lot of babies in limbo. This is all about the babies. What about the babies right now that's, that's the irreparable harm that's being alleged in these new filings. So we'll continue to fall. But I wanted to give a tip of the hat to the organization here. There's, there's, there's three separate ones. But the organization here, that has moved so quickly and so, so great in response to Kagan and Sotomayor to write all these things, that would be the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy, Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. Well, they were in Washington anyway, so there you go. So until my next report on Midas Dutch network or on Legal af, take a moment, hit the subscribe button on Legal af. I will post these filings on Legal AF substack under Filings AF and the original opinion about the United States from the United States Supreme Court under SCOTUS af. Till my next report, I'm Michael Popak.
Ben Meiselis
Hey everybody. Ben Meiselis here from the Midas Touch Network. I wanted to let you know about my podcast partner Michael Popo's new law firm. It's called the Popak Firm. Michael Popo's pursuing his dream of starting his own law firm, really based on the popular demand by all the Midas mighty and legal A effers who are approaching Michael Popak with their cases and saying, can you help us? And at that time, Popak was not able to. So he went out on his own. He started the Popoc firm where he is now handling catastrophic injury cases like car accident cases, trucking cases, malpractice cases, big negligence cases, wrongful death cases. So if you or someone you know have a case like this, the consultation with Popo's firm is free. Give them a call. See if you have a case. It's ThePopoc Firm.com ThePopoc Firm.com or you can call 877-popakaF-P-P-O-P o p o k a f. So 1-877-p-o p o k a f. Give Michael Popak and I'm really proud of you, Popoc. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in.
Legal AF by MeidasTouch Episode: Supreme Court Walks Right Into Instant Checkmate Release Date: July 1, 2025
In this pivotal episode of Legal AF, host Michael Popak delves into the latest Supreme Court ruling that has significant ramifications for birthright citizenship in the United States. The decision amid intense political and legal maneuvering has sparked immediate responses from various public interest groups and law firms advocating to uphold the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for all individuals born on U.S. soil.
Michael Popak outlines the swift legal backlash following the Supreme Court's decision to restrict birthright citizenship. He questions whether former President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court anticipated the preparedness of public interest groups and law firms to challenge the ruling.
Popak states, “Did Donald Trump and the United States Supreme Court think the public interest groups and law firms defending birthright citizenship weren't going to be at the ready to file a new motion for class certification?” (01:16).
The episode highlights the critical insights from Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Sonia Sotomayor. Popak emphasizes how Kavanaugh’s concurrence suggests that lower courts must handle nationwide injunctions through class actions, effectively limiting the Supreme Court's direct oversight.
Popak explains, “Justice Kavanaugh's concurring opinion confirms that district courts may, quote, grant or deny the functional equivalent of a universal injunction” (03:45).
Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion is portrayed as a blueprint for legal strategy, guiding public defenders on the necessary steps to challenge the executive order.
A significant portion of the discussion centers on the strategic filing of class action lawsuits as a response to the Supreme Court ruling. Popak breaks down the legal process, illustrating how class certification and temporary restraining orders are being utilized to counteract the executive order.
Popak articulates, “Parents of children covered by the citizenship order would be well advised to file promptly class action suits and to request temporary injunctive relief for the putative class pending class certification” (05:10).
He further elaborates on the mechanics of class actions, emphasizing their role in representing numerous individuals with similar grievances in a collective legal approach.
The immediate impact on children born under the affected executive order is profound. Popak discusses the potential for these children to be rendered stateless, facing challenges such as lack of access to federal benefits and difficulties in international travel.
Popak raises a poignant question, “Who’s going to issue them a passport? Who? Their parents are from Mexico, so Mexico is going to issue them a passport” (08:30).
He underscores the urgency for legal remedies to prevent irreparable harm to these children, highlighting the emotional and practical stakes involved.
Looking ahead, Popak outlines the anticipated trajectory of the legal battle, including appeals to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for Maryland and the possibility of the Supreme Court revisiting the case in the upcoming term.
Popak predicts, “They could roll it to the next term. Starts the first Monday in October. That leaves a lot of babies in limbo” (10:00).
He assesses the likelihood of the Supreme Court granting emergency applications, suggesting that oral arguments will likely play a role in the decision-making process.
The episode acknowledges the swift and organized efforts of advocacy groups such as the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. These organizations have been instrumental in preparing legal motions and supporting affected families.
Popak commends their responsiveness, stating, “They moved so quickly and so great in response to Kagan and Sotomayor to write all these things” (10:45).
Michael Popak concludes the episode by emphasizing the dynamic nature of this legal confrontation and the critical role of class actions in shaping the future of birthright citizenship. He calls on listeners to stay informed and engaged as the legal processes unfold, affecting thousands of lives across the nation.
Popak wraps up, “Kudos to the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in these cases and for them filing so quickly and having at the ready their, their various motions” (09:20).
Timestamps:
Note: Advertisements, introductory remarks, and promotional content were excluded from this summary to focus solely on the episode's substantive discussions.