The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted a nationwide injunction on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) executive orders, permitting them to be enforced while litigation continues. We’ve gathered articles on the news from trusted outlets.
The three judges found that while actions taken by the federal agencies under the orders could ultimately be deemed unconstitutional, the orders as written are not unconstitutional.
One judge said that the executive orders are “distinctly limited in scope” and “do not purport to establish the illegality of all efforts to advance diversity, equity, or inclusion,” but instead apply only to “conduct that violates existing federal anti-discrimination law.”
Two of the judges on the 4th Circuit said the DEI executive orders could eventually raise First Amendment concerns but said the district court judge’s injunction went too far. One of these judges wrote, “Despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium.”
However, a third judge wrote, “Any individual judge’s view on whether certain executive action is good policy is not only irrelevant to fulfilling our duty to adjudicate cases and controversies according to the law, it is an impermissible consideration.” She added, “A judge’s opinion that DEI programs ‘deserve praise, not opprobrium’ should play absolutely no part in deciding this case.”
Legislators in Sacramento, California, are mulling over one of the most (if not the most) troubling state and local tax bills of the past decade. Senate Bill (SB) 799, introduced earlier this year...