US federal judge rules civil liberties oversight board members were improperly fired News
Joe Gratz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
US federal judge rules civil liberties oversight board members were improperly fired

A US federal judge ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump broke the law when he fired members of an independent civil liberties watchdog board without cause in January. US District Court for the District of Columbia Senior Judge Reggie Walton further ordered the reinstatement of those challenging their removals in court.

Plaintiffs Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten received emails on January 21, 2025, from the Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel that their resignations were requested within two days. When LeBlanc and Felton did not comply, they received notice that they were terminated from their positions on the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB).

The PCLOB is an independent agency created by Congress after the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations urged more oversight for citizens’ privacy and civil liberties. This was at a time of “increased and consolidated government authority” as the nation took major efforts to prevent terrorism.

The PCLOB advises Congress and the Executive Branch on privacy and civil liberty considerations related to counter terrorism proposals and regulations. For example, board members were in the process of reviewing a report on the Transportation Security Administration’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology. In the recent past, the board has been involved in reviewing government efforts to combat domestic terrorism. At the time of the firings, the board was the in process of preparing its semi-annual report to Congress.

LeBlanc and Felten, who are both Democrats with expertise in technology and cybersecurity, argue their terminations violate federal law and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution because Congress intended to restrict the president’s removal powers for the non-partisan and independent board and they were removed without cause.

[T]he Court concludes that Congress’s restriction of the President’s removal authority regarding members of the PCLOB comport with the separation of powers. Accordingly, because such a restriction is constitutional, and because the defendants do not dispute that the plaintiffs’ removals were without cause, the Court concludes that the plaintiffs’ removals were unlawful.

Walton granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and request for injunctive relief in the form of reinstatement to the board.

THIS DAY @ LAW

John Marshall declared US judicial supremacy over states

On February 20, 1809, US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in United States v. Peters that the legal power of the federal judiciary is greater than that of any individual state: "If the legislatures of the several states may, at will, annul the judgments of the courts of the United States, and destroy rights acquired under those judgments, the constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery; and the nation is deprived of the means of enforcing its laws by the instrumentality of its own tribunals."