The Investigative Journal’s weekly court watch, covering notable rulings, orders, and filings from April 6 through April 13, 2026. Cases are grouped by court level, with direct links to opinions and docket materials where available.
Supreme Court
Justices Decline to Hear Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Challenge
The Supreme Court denied certiorari early in the week in a cluster of Second Amendment petitions, including challenges to Illinois’ Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans certain semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines. The denial leaves intact a divided en banc ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upholding the ban and functionally postpones any definitive national ruling on so-called “assault weapon” prohibitions until at least the 2026-2027 term.
The order list includes no recorded dissents from the denial, though Justice Clarence Thomas has previously written that the Court’s continued avoidance of the AR-15 question is “untenable.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, concurring in an earlier relist cycle, predicted the Court would take up the issue “in the next Term or two.” Gun-rights litigators have already signaled they will continue to press pending vehicles out of Maryland and other circuits.
The decision is a significant procedural win for state-level gun regulators and a setback for challengers who had hoped the post-Bruen text-and-history framework would invalidate state-level firearm classifications. Records suggest the petitioners will refile after lower courts further develop the “common use” record.
Trump v. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship Case Awaits Decision
Although oral argument in Trump v. Barbara (No. 25-365) occurred April 1, the case continued to dominate the Court’s docket this week as the justices circulated drafts in advance of an expected end-of-term ruling. The case tests the Trump administration’s executive order directing federal agencies to withhold citizenship documentation from children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or on short-term visas. Every lower court to consider the order has enjoined it.
According to the argument transcript posted to the Supreme Court’s website, the justices focused heavily on whether the executive branch has authority to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause without congressional action, and on the proper scope of nationwide relief in class actions brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Filings indicate that a decision is expected in June 2026.
Until the Court rules, the nationwide preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire remains in force. The administration has taken the position that it will comply with the injunction pending final resolution.
Summary Disposition in Election-Speech Appeal
In a short unsigned order noted by SCOTUSblog on April 7, the Court declined to intervene in a state election dispute concerning political speech restrictions, leaving a lower-court ruling in place. The order did not create new doctrine, but it signals the Court’s continuing preference for summary dispositions on the interim docket when the underlying legal questions are already being litigated elsewhere. Right of reply: the state parties have indicated they will seek further review on a fuller record.
Federal Circuit Courts
D.C. Circuit Allows White House Ballroom Construction to Continue
On Saturday, April 11, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that construction of a new White House ballroom could continue through April 17, when the court will revisit the matter. The order effectively paused a lower-court injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who had ordered construction to stop no later than April 14 on the ground that the project lacked congressional authorization.
According to reporting by NPR, CNN, and The Washington Post, the panel sent the case back to Judge Leon for additional fact-finding on the administration’s claim that a mid-project pause would create national-security vulnerabilities at the executive residence. The appeals court wrote that it could not meaningfully scrutinize that contention “on a hurried record.” Administration lawyers had characterized the district court’s halt order as “shocking, unprecedented and improper.”
The underlying litigation was brought in December 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argues the East Wing demolition and ballroom replacement require statutory approval. Records suggest the project has been endorsed by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, both of which have majorities of Trump-appointed members. The case is one to watch closely after April 17.
Second Circuit Reinstates $656 Million Judgment Against PLO and Palestinian Authority
On April 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated a $656 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in a long-running suit brought by American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel. The panel had previously vacated the judgment on jurisdictional grounds, but the Supreme Court’s June 2025 decision in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization upheld the 2019 Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (PSJVTA) and required reconsideration.
According to the Associated Press, counsel for the plaintiff families said they were “very relieved that the court has reinstated the judgment without requiring a new trial.” The decision is the first post-Fuld circuit ruling to apply the PSJVTA’s personal-jurisdiction provisions, and it will likely serve as a template for other pending actions. The PLO and PA have indicated they may seek further review.
Federal District Courts
Judge Orders Accused War Criminal Detained Pending Extradition
A federal judge in the Southern District of Alabama on April 9 ordered the continued detention of a foreign national who has lived in Mobile for roughly 25 years, pending an extradition proceeding in which the individual is accused of serious international crimes. According to Fox 10 Mobile, the ruling rejected a bid for release pending the extradition hearing after prosecutors argued the defendant posed both a flight risk and a danger to the community. The charges are allegations; the individual has not been convicted in any U.S. proceeding.
The order reflects a pattern in federal extradition practice of narrow pretrial-release outcomes, particularly in cases involving alleged wartime atrocities where the defendant has substantial ties to jurisdictions outside the United States. Filings indicate the extradition hearing will proceed in the coming weeks.
D.C. District Court Scrutinizes East Wing Security Claims
Although the D.C. Circuit’s April 11 ruling (discussed above) dominated headlines, the underlying district-court proceedings before Judge Leon continue to shape the ballroom litigation. Under the appeals court’s remand order, Judge Leon must evaluate the government’s security-based justifications for continued construction and issue new factual findings before the April 17 review. Records suggest both sides have already filed supplemental declarations.
State Courts
Texas Trial Court Blocks Smokable Hemp Ban
On Friday, April 10, Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued a temporary restraining order pausing enforcement of new Texas regulations that would ban most smokable hemp products, including THCA flower. The order followed a related April 4 ruling by Judge Jeremiah Ray and keeps products on shelves while the court considers the underlying separation-of-powers challenge.
According to the Texas Tribune and Marijuana Moment, the plaintiffs — including the Texas Hemp Business Council and the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America — argue that state regulators exceeded their statutory authority when they adopted rules banning products that the legislature had not itself prohibited. Counsel for the plaintiffs told the court the case “is really based on a constitutional separation-of-powers issue.” The state has signaled it will appeal.
The ruling is significant for several reasons: it reflects continuing state-level litigation over the scope of the 2018 federal Farm Bill’s hemp carve-out, it underscores the growing role of state administrative-law challenges, and it may foreshadow similar challenges in other states where regulators have moved ahead of the legislature on intoxicating hemp products.
Washington Supreme Court to Consider New State Income Tax
Opponents of Washington’s recently enacted tax on high earners filed suit on April 8 in state court, arguing that the measure violates nearly a century of state Supreme Court precedent prohibiting graduated income taxes. According to the Washington State Standard, former Attorney General Rob McKenna is leading the challenge, which is expected to reach the state Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, a lead sponsor, said the legal challenge was “expected and welcomed” and that testing the law’s constitutionality was part of the legislature’s intent. The case will be a major state-constitutional test in the months ahead.
Class Actions and Notable Filings
Lively v. Baldoni: Judge Liman Issues Significant Evidentiary Order
In the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on April 2 issued an order in Lively v. Baldoni that legal commentators described as a significant narrowing of the plaintiff’s claims. The order, which addresses evidentiary and procedural motions in the high-profile defamation and harassment litigation, is now being briefed on reconsideration. Filings indicate discovery will continue under the revised framework.
These are civil allegations, not findings of wrongdoing. Both sides have denied the other’s claims.
Monsanto v. Durnell Amicus Wave
The Supreme Court’s docket in Monsanto Company v. Durnell — a case testing whether federal pesticide labeling law preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims — saw a wave of amicus filings in the first week of April, including briefs from 36 state legislators, attorneys general of Texas and New Mexico, former EPA officials, and the Roundup and Paraquat MDL Court-appointed leadership. The filings set up one of the term’s most closely watched preemption cases, with implications for billions of dollars in product-liability exposure.
Cases to Watch Next Week
- East Wing Ballroom, Round Three: Judge Leon’s remand findings are due before April 17, when the D.C. Circuit will reconsider the injunction. Expect a fast-moving record.
- SCOTUS April Sitting Opens April 20: The Court begins its final argument sitting of the term, including cases on administrative preemption and federal criminal procedure.
- Trump v. Barbara: No ruling is expected this week, but opinion-announcement Mondays are now the key dates to watch through June.
- Texas Hemp Ban: The state’s appeal of the Travis County TRO is expected to move quickly through the Texas Third Court of Appeals.
- Washington Income Tax: Initial procedural motions in the state-court challenge are expected to be filed this week.
This digest covers public-record developments only. Pending cases are noted as such. Right of reply requests from named parties can be directed to the editor at tij.news.