Fifth Circuit Assigns A.A.R.P. v. Trump To New Panel For Reargument, Judge Ho Concurs
On Friday afternoon, the Supreme Court remanded A.A.R.P. v. Trump to the Fifth Circuit with very precise instructions. Today, the Fifth Circuit assigned the case to the next available oral argument panel:
Last Friday, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of our court, which had dismissed this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The Court remanded the case back to us for further proceedings, and directed us to proceed “expeditiously.” A.A.R.P. v. Trump, 605 U.S. _, _ (2025). Accordingly, this matter is expedited to the next available randomly designated regular oral argument panel.
Judge Ho wrote an seven-page concurrence. He defended his colleague, Judge Wes Hendrix, against an unfair attack from the Supreme Court:
As an inferior court, we’re duty-bound to follow Supreme Court rulings—whether we agree with them or not. We don’t have to like it. But we have to do it. So I concur in our order today expediting our consideration of this matter, as directed by the Supreme Court. But I write to state my sincere concerns about how the district judge as well as the President and other officials have been treated in this case. I worry that the disrespect they have been shown will not inspire continued respect for the judiciary, without which we cannot long function. See, e.g., In re Westcott, 135 F.4th 243, 250–51 (5th Cir. 2025) (Ho, J., concurring).
Ho responds to Chief Justice Roberts, who boasts that the role of the Supreme Court is to check the other branches:
It is not the role of the judiciary to check the excesses of the other branches, any more than it’s our role to check the excesses of any other American citizen. Judges do not roam the countryside looking for opportunities to chasti
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