Yesterday, Perkins Coie filed a lawsuit to “to declare the [Executive Order targeting the firm] unlawful and to enjoin its implementation.” Today, Judge Beryl Howell held a held an hour-and-a-half-long hour hearing on the firm’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on sections 1, 3, and 5 of the Order. After interrogating both sides, Howell issued the TRO.
Howell found there was a likelihood Perkins Coie would succeed on the merits, specifically noting the Order is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. She writes the “retaliatory animus” is clear from both the EO and related fact sheet. “This is viewpoint discrimination plain and simple,” Howell wrote.
There was also a likely violation of the firm’s due process rights, noting the order as creates a “badge of infamy,” and no process was given to the firm. Howell also found the EO was not narrowly tailored and, throughout the hearing, hammered on the thousands of Perkins Coie employees — many of them in administrative or clerical roles — impacted by the EO.
While the government attorney (Chad Mizelle, chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi, and husband to district court judge Kathryn Mizelle) repeatedly argued the harms to the firm were purely speculative, as specific guidance on the application of the EO has not yet been issued. But Perkins Coie’s attorney, Williams & Connolly partner Dane Butswinkas, noted the firm has lost clients every day since the EO was issued and Perkins Coie attorneys were prevented from doing their jobs because government attorneys have already canceled meetings with firm lawyers in order to comply with the Order. Butswinkas said, “[The EO] truly is life-threatening. It will spell the end of the law firm.”
Howell found the harm to the firm met the standard for a TRO. She also noted the EO was an effort to intimidate the legal profession from taking cases and positions disfavored by the administration, and the chilling effect on the legal system is real.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
