Overview

• U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen threw out the Justice Department’s suit, finding the government lacked standing and that the Maryland judges are protected by absolute judicial immunity.
• The decision leaves in place Chief Judge George L. Russell III’s standing order that automatically pauses deportations until 4 p.m. on the second business day after a habeas petition is filed.
• Cullen, a Trump appointee sitting in Virginia because all Maryland judges were named as defendants, called the inter-branch lawsuit “not ordinary” and a “constitutional free-for-all” the court would not entertain.
• He declined to rule on the order’s substantive legality and said the administration should use established avenues such as appeals or other procedural channels to seek relief.
• In a pointed rebuke, Cullen cited a “concerted effort” by executive officials to smear judges, describing the attacks as unprecedented and unfortunate, as the dispute intersected with high-profile cases such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation.