On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that universal injunctions probably exceed the authority of the federal courts. As David Lat, SCOTUSBlog moderator, put it: “The issue in play was universal injunctions not the constitutionality of the administration’s birthright citizenship order.”

“The applications do not raise—and thus the Court does not address—the question whether the Executive Order violates the Citizenship Clause or Nationality Act. Instead, the issue the Court decides is whether, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, federal courts have equitable authority to issue universal injunctions,” the Court explained in the majority opinion.