{"id":4509,"date":"2026-08-12T21:12:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=4509"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:12:01","slug":"abolish-the-district-of-columbias-clown-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=4509","title":{"rendered":"Abolish the District of Columbia\u2019s Clown Courts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Article III of the Constitution allows Congress to establish courts below the Supreme Court, which includes federal District and Circuit Courts. If Congress can establish them, it can abolish them. In 1801, in the waning days of John Adams\u2019 presidency, Congress did just that and abolished the district and circuit courts of the District of Columbia.<\/p>

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These two courts display widespread intransigent partisanship and demonstrably poor scholarship, exemplified by this week\u2019s ruling on the new White House construction. Given the difficulty of removing so many bad judges in these two courts by impeaching them, it\u2019s time to repeat John Adams\u2019 move: Abolish these courts. Cases that normally would be heard in them should be assigned to courts elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The case which most showcases the lunacy of the D.C. courts is National Trust for Historic Preservation in the As is often the case in poorly reasoned opinions, the author substitutes words for reason.<\/p>\n

As you may know, the old East Wing of the White House which, among other things, contained underground security facilities (bunkers, bomb-shelters, and military and medical infrastructure), presidential offices and some minimal public meeting spaces, was torn down and construction begun on a replacement with a larger number of more modern offices and a ballroom to provide a larger, much-needed entertainment and meeting space, better security facilities, and protection against drone attacks. Up to now, rented tents and outdoor porta potty facilities have had to be utilized for state events, and the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner\u00a0surely underscores the need for a safe venue for such things. Except for the congressional appropriation for the upgraded secure facilities in this new wing, the remainder of the cost is being borne by private contributions to the National Park Service, which is administering these funds.<\/p>\n

But this is hate Trump city, and Alison Hoagland, a board member of the National Trust, said that she takes monthly walks past the White House and that the aesthetics of the new construction would cause her harm.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

In the real world, monthly aesthetic harm to one person\u2019s delicate sensibilities would not upend a needed improvement to the White House grounds, which are exempt by its terms from the National Historic Preservation Act (which establishes the Trust). The litigation has been long and involved back-and-forth court rulings between the district and circuit courts.<\/p>\n

The courts have now finally agreed the below-ground construction would not be halted, but this week ruled the above-ground work must be, even though that is a structural impossibility and a security (and aesthetic) nightmare.<\/p>\n

The first question that every court must decide before proceeding further in any case is whether or not it even has jurisdiction to hear and decide the matter. The majority opinion doesn\u2019t get to this until\u00a0page 30 of its opinion, and then, for all its flowery verbosity, it got it wrong, just as the dissenting judge notes:<\/p>\n

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…the district court had no jurisdiction because the Trust has no standing to stop construction at the White House. The ballroom is also likely within the President\u2019s authority to make improvements to the Executive Residence at the White House. Finally, the balance of equities overwhelmingly favors the government. The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government\u2019s security interests in the ballroom and the security risks of leaving an open construction site at the President\u2019s home and office.<\/p>

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In assessing the balance of equities between Ms. Hoagland\u2019s claimed aesthetic harms and the needs of the White House, Judge Rao shows the Court \u201cimproperly glossed over, ignored or discounted the government\u2019s evidence demonstrating the \n

\"\"<\/figure>\nsecurity harms from construction of the ballroom.\u201d Nor could it, as Rao noted, \u201ccompensate for the slight aesthetic harm by resorting to hyperbole and its view of the legal merits. Every day the project is delayed increases the security risk according to declarations from senior military and Secret Service officials. Moreover, the creation of the above-ground ballroom \u201cwill alleviate security vulnerabilities that currently impact large events involving the President.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a practical matter, the underground and above-ground facilities cannot be separated out at this point.<\/p>\n

\n

The Secretary of the Army has further explained why the underground national security facilities cannot be adequately protected by the concrete slab and modest topping structure allowed by the district court\u2019s injunction\u2026 The ballroom\u2019s dimensions and structure are essential for security. According to the Secretary, \u201c[t]o provide adequate subterranean protection without\u201d the \u201cheight and mass\u201d of the ballroom, \u201cengineers would need to dig impractically deep.\u201d…The ballroom provides a critical \u201cdual-layered system\u201d of protection for the national security facilities, \u201ccomprising a sacrificial outer cover coupled with a hardened inner structural element.\u201d \u2026Corroborating the Secretary\u2019s account, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has similarly described how the \u201cheight and mass\u201d of the ballroom \u201cprovide crucial, physical layers to shield\u201d the national security facilities. The height of the ballroom will also provide an \u201cessential elevated platform to engage and neutralize aerial systems,\u201d such as drones, that pose an increasingly serious threat to White House security. \u2026There is no dispute that the Secretary\u2019s declaration and the Army Corps memorandum are authentic, credible, and \u201cgo[] to the heart of the contested issue,\u201d so it would be \u201cinconsistent with this court\u2019s own equitable obligations to pretend that [they] do[] not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On X, Apple Lamps summarizes:<\/p>\n

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Congress authorized \u201calteration\u201d and \u201cimprovement\u201d of the Executive Residence. It authorized the National Park Service to accept donations and appropriated the resulting trust funds. The ballroom serves official presidential functions and forms part of an integrated security project. At the absolute minimum, the government\u2019s interpretation is reasonable, which is fatal to the National Trust\u2019s extraordinary ultra vires claim.<\/p>\n

A court lacking a clearly injured plaintiff cannot appoint itself architect, preservation board, appropriations committee, and security supervisor of the White House.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I have no doubt that despite all the language in the majority opinion, the impetus for this absurd decision is the desire to hamstring the President in all things large or small and have him leave office with unsightly, dangerous, and insecure construction on the White House grounds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s altogether possible, as Shipwreckedcrew suggests, that the Supreme Court will just summarily order relief to the Administration and remand the case to the District Court, referencing Judge Rao\u2019s dissent on the Trust\u2019s lack of standing to bring this matter.<\/p>\n

If not, it seems perfectly obvious to me that the D.C. courts care little about established law or\u00a0presidential (and national) security and deserve to be abolished.<\/p>

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Image: G. Edward Johnson<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article III of the Constitution allows Congress to establish courts below the Supreme Court, which includes federal District and Circuit Courts. If Congress can establish them, it can abolish them. 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