'The opposite of diversity is segregation': Judge castigates Trump over anti-DEI policies, but says he cannot intervene

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Law & Crime

May 1st, 2025, 6:53 pm


A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday expressed severe misgivings about the Trump administration‘s efforts to root out “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) initiatives, but insisted he had little power to change the current state of play in an ongoing legal battle. In the underlying litigation, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, a membership organization, won a late February injunction barring the new policies.

This initial victory came when U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson, a Joe Biden appointee, found that the directives were both unconstitutionally vague and violative of the First Amendment’s free speech protections. But the victory was short-lived. On March 14, Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, along with Circuit Judges Pamela Harris and Allison Rushing, granted the government’s request for a stay pending appeal. The plaintiffs, undeterred, then asked Abelson to vacate his original injunction, citing what the court termed “new factual developments.” This effort was in service of a bid for a new preliminary injunction.

“[T]hey believe that ‘evidence related to agencies’ interpretation and implementation of the Executive Orders’ would further support the likelihood of success on the merits of their already-asserted claims, and further that they ‘could amend their complaint to add new facial claims’ challenging the executive order provisions at issue,” the court explains. “The new ‘facial claims’ Plaintiffs state they may add in an amended complaint would be claims under the Administrative Procedures Act.”

Such an injunction would more or less reset the case – and force the Trump administration to spend several weeks requesting and litigating another stay. And, the plaintiffs argued, even the appellate panel that paused the first injunction would be amenable here.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/the-opposite-of-diversity-is-segregation-judge-castigates-trump-over-anti-dei-policies-but-says-he-cannot-intervene/

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Link to ORDER (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25925747-nadohe-v-trump-abelson-order/

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25925747/nadohe-v-trump-abelson-order.pdf

The judge basically said this -

the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in the case but simply did not bring enough to the table for him to vacate the earlier injunction.