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How Trump’s Policy Agenda Runs Through One Federal Court, in Texas

For years, conservative litigants flocked to Judge Reed O’Connor’s district. Now, North Texas has become a favorite destination of the Justice Department.

© U.S. Courts, via Reuters

Judge Reed O’Connor in 2018. He has built a reputation as a conservative stalwart and became the chief judge of the Northern District of Texas last August.
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Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel

The ruling was a win for Stanford’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, and it followed another court victory for students targeted by the Trump administration last year.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

A lawsuit argued that student journalists had been forced to self-censor out of fear of government retaliation.
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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Ban on Transgender Troops

President Trump issued an executive order barring transgender service members from the military as part of a broader attack on transgender rights.

© Allison Robbert for The New York Times

If the justices accept the case, they could schedule oral arguments during the Supreme Court’s term that begins in October.
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Judge Again Denies Trump’s Request to Move Hush-Money Case to Federal Court

The ruling, from Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, blocks President Trump’s quickest path to overturning his 2024 conviction for covering up hush-money payments to a porn star.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

In July, the Supreme Court found that presidents were entitled to presumptive immunity for official acts, raising the bar for any prosecution.
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Judge Once Again Bars Postal Service From Restricting Mail-In Vote

After reviewing the agency’s final plan to comply with President Trump’s demands, a federal judge barred the Postal Service from imposing new restrictions on mail-in voting.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

In a filing on Thursday, the Postal Service denied that its proposal left any room for it to second-guess states on which voters were eligible to cast a ballot.
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