A federal appeals court on Wednesday shut down a lower judge’s orders that had tried to limit federal officials from using tear gas and other aggressive crowd control measures in the Chicago area.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Judge Sara Ellis went too far in slapping restrictions across the entire federal government and in her meticulous rules about what was allowed and when.
The court said ordering the government to submit its tactics to the court for review “impermissibly” infringed on the separation of powers between branches of government.
The three-judge appeals panel said that doesn’t mean the Trump administration is in the clear, but it said any new restrictions must be more tightly drawn.
“Do not overread today’s order. Our concerns about the substantial overbreadth of the district court’s injunction lead us to stay it pending appeal, which we will expedite. But we have not concluded that preliminary relief is precluded,” the judges — a Reagan appointee and two Trump appointees — said in an unsigned order.
They said they also have “reservations” about whether the plaintiffs in the case have legal standing to sue.
Judge Ellis, an Obama appointee, had been harsh in her findings about the administration.
She ruled that a Homeland Security official had misled the public on events that led to the use of tear gas in one high-profile incident.
And she said the level of use of force “shocks the conscience.”
Previously, Judge Ellis had tried to order a senior Homeland Security official to deliver daily briefings to her on crowd control efforts. The 7th Circuit blocked that as well.
