16th July 2026
A judge has made a splendid Order, which should be read in full.
There has never been a case like this one.
That is not just the view of some passing legal blogger, but of the judge herself. As Judge Kathleen M. Williams said in her latest, highly significant order:
“But perhaps the most startling misstatement advanced by Plaintiffs is their characterization of this case as “ordinary.” […] There is nothing “ordinary” about this case; it is the very definition of sui generis.”
“Sui generis” is a legal phrase, meaning a thing is unique.
As a biologist would say, a thing has a genus all of its own.
*
The case is, of course, the (supposed) litigation between President Trump and his own government, which was (supposedly) settled in a way so as to lead to a huge slush fund for political allies and wide ranging tax immunities for Trump.
And that has come to a halt, with this wonderful piece of legal writing, which you should read in full.
I will do a longer piece on here when I have fully recovered from an irksome illness, and thank you for your patience in the meantime.
An earlier version of this had a borked link, now fixed.
Thank you for the corrected link
One thought, ahead of reading the full judgment, on page 8 it is stated:
” Unlike the “settlement agreement,” which was signed by purported representatives of both Plaintiffs and Defendants, only Acting Attorney General Blanche’s signature was on the Release Order”.
On page 1 of the online version of today’s New York Times we read that certain Senators are not yet convinced they should approve the nomination of Mr Blanche as Attorney General. Idon’t see any mention of the judgement in question but it could be very well timed!
Many thanks for alerting me to this judgement, which I’ve just read with great interest. It gives me a lot of encouragement that judges like this one (and many others, some appointed by President Trump) are vigorously upholding the rule of law, ‘without fear or favour’. I only wish the majority of the Supreme Court would do so consistently (though I suppose I should be grateful for small mercies that enough of them are doing so at least some of the time, to avoid President Trump having unfettered freedom to abuse the law).
The judiciary in the United States, despite the unfortunate Supreme Court judgements, is providing the only effective bar on the rogue elephant that is President Trump, Congress having signally failed to live up to its responsibilities to hold the Presidency in check.
I used to suppose that this was a blog for practising lawyers but if you have to explain “sui generis” I am sadly mistaken. Good bye.
Hi Catherine
This has never been a blog for practicing lawyers, so your supposition was wrong. This has always been a blog for promoting the public understanding of law. That is why I usually define terms when I can. I cannot explain how you have missed this feature of previous posts.
But, even if it were a blog for practicing lawyers, there is still no harm in defining terms, especially when they are in Latin or in any other foreign language.
Fortunately, however, I have never had this complaint before, so at least you now have the satisfaction of you too being sui generis.
~ dag
As a non-lawyer who reads and enjoys all your posts, I’m very grateful for help with the Latin phrases. Thank you, I appreciate it!
Do get better – for purely selfish reasons ………..
I just want to read the interpretation of this decision!
May I suggest that “extraordinary” for trump is fast becoming redundant.
The link doesn’t work. (20:19 July 16)
I cannot explain why, as it is working for others.
Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery from your illness. And thanks for your writing.
Trump is “special”.
I’m not a lawyer or in the legal profession yet I’m genuinely puzzled by Trump’s lawyers. Are they morally bankrupt with a disregard for the law, or just incompetent? Or do they actually believe they can ‘get away with it’? Or is this all just a calculated effort to obfuscate and buy time? Perhaps it’s all of those 🤔
Thanks very much for this. I love the sly reference to ‘the art of the deal’ on p. 2 of the judgement. Hope you feel better soon.