Posted originally on CTH on August 8, 2025 | Sundance

Judge James Boasberg has been knocked down twice today. [RULING HERE]

(VIA CNN) – A divided federal appeals court ruled on Friday that US District Court Judge James Boasberg cannot move ahead with criminal contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials involved in a high-stakes immigration case.

The 2-1 ruling from the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals wipes away a ruling from Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama issued in April that said “probable cause exists” to hold administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders in mid-March halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.

The appeals court had temporarily put Boasberg’s plans on ice while it weighed the government’s appeal of the ruling, and Friday’s ruling represents a significant setback for the judge, who had vowed to hold officials involved in the matter accountable.

In a separate decision on Friday, the DC Circuit wiped away a different ruling from Boasberg that required the administration to give the migrants flown to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act an opportunity to challenge their removal from the US under the sweeping wartime law. (read more)