Donald Trump's Contributions to Constitutional Law
Will Trump's extradition, if it ever comes to that, be another example of Trump's contribution to constitutional law?
May 28, 2021 at 10:15 AM
8 minute read
If Donald Trump is charged criminally—and that's a significant if—his recent expeditions into New Jersey and New York may be ill-advised. Trump's lawyers probably should counsel him to stay in Florida, at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach. Why? Because if Trump is indicted, either by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, or New York State Attorney General Letitia James, or both together, he will be subject to arrest. But the U.S. Constitution's subservience to state sovereignty provides that Trump cannot be arrested by officials in one state if he is physically present in another state. Unless Trump voluntarily submits, Article IV of the Constitution requires the state where the accused faces criminal charges to "demand" that the governor of the other state "deliver [him] up" to the demanding state. But there's the rub. If Trump stays in Florida, is it likely that Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's most fervent supporters, may resist "delivery" of Trump to New York state.
The extent to which a governor can thwart extradition is unclear. The U.S. Supreme Court in Puerto Rico v. Bransford (1987) ruled that federal courts may enforce a governor's duty to deliver up the fugitive to the demanding state. But as we have seen, Trump and his lawyer-enablers are quite adept at concocting all sorts of specious arguments to thwart the Constitution and legal justice. Will Trump's extradition, if it ever comes to that, be another example of Trump's contribution to constitutional law?
To be sure, Trump's presidency was not celebrated by most Americans—over 81 million Americans voted for Biden, 7 million more than for Trump. Trump's authoritarian rule has threatened democracy and the rule of law. But to constitutional law professors—who thrive on weird and fantastical hypotheticals—Trump's presidency has made the course much more vibrant. His one term in office illuminated a wide array of important and even obscure constitutional provisions. My extradition example may be a reach. But below are 10 actual examples:
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
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Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
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Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
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David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
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Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
