Among the “remedies” in the drug store known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is Section 70302. It is a single sentence, but has the capacity to fundamentally alter the checks and balances of our democratic system where power is distributed between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government. It reads:
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.”
Under this language, no federal judge would be permitted to enforce an order through contempt against a public official who knowingly violates a court directive unless the person bringing the lawsuit first files a bond or other financial security at the outset of the litigation. The historic practice is that federal courts routinely waive security where the claim is a violation of constitutional rights. Typically, plaintiffs do not have significant financial capacity nor is there a satisfactory measure of damage to a federal agency or official, should the government ultimately prevail on the merits.
The effect of Section 70302 is to strip federal courts of their ability to enforce their orders and to actively discourage citizens from seeking to secure their rights.
This section is all the more pernicious because it is intended to apply to ALL orders, past and present. This language, which had the support of Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, may be blocked by the Congressional Budget Office because it is not germane to spending. But we should expect Senators Sullivan and Murkowski to object to its inclusion on good-government grounds.
Finally, we should see this as another warning sign that, like the Roman Senate of old, many lawmakers are more than willing to surrender ever more power to Caesar.
Bruce Botelho
Juneau