Kathryn A. Watts

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Reviewing Presidential Orders
Lisa Manheim
Charles I. Stone Associate Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law

Many thanks to Alex Arkfeld, Ben Crozier, and the librarians at the UW School of Law for their excellent research assistance. Thank you also to those who provided helpful comments on earlier drafts, including Jeff Feldman, David Marcus, and Kevin Stack, as well as to those who shared their thoughts at workshops in which prior versions of this project were presented, including at Emory University School of Law’s Faculty Colloquium, the presidential power lecture series at the University of Arizona, and the Rehnquist Center’s National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars.

Kathryn A. Watts
Jack R. MacDonald Endowed Chair, University of Washington School of Law.

In early 2017, a newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump tried to force policy change through a flurry of written orders. While some opponents took to the streets to protest, others identified a different forum for resistance: the federal courts. Lawyers, mobilizing at a breakneck pace, sued the President in name to enjoin the implementation of several of his signature orders, including his first travel ban and an executive order involving sanctuary cities.