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You wouldn’t be able to sue the judge. Judges enjoy absolute immunity from suit for acts taken in their judicial capacity. If a party to a case thinks a judge got something wrong, the remedy is either an appeal or a petition for writ of mandamus. If you think a federal judge is abusing his office, the remedy is to file a judicial misconduct complaint with the clerk of the court of appeals for that circuit or to ask your Congressman to institute articles of impeachment.

I agree that this is something the Supreme Court could address. The Supreme Court should have tackled this issue long ago. It’s a matter of subject matter jurisdiction, which can be raised for the first time on appeal, and it’s black-letter law that courts have not only the power but the duty to inquire into their own jurisdiction even if the issue is not raised by the litigants.

That said, it is not at all clear how it would turn out—the Judiciary Act just isn’t that clear in delineating the equitable power of district judges. It’s still something that would be best addressed by Congress. Given how much angst these injunctions have caused administrations of both parties, you’d think Congress would have done something about it long ago. Who knows, maybe the recent Obamacare ruling will prompt some Democrats to get on board.

“You wouldn’t be able to sue the judge. Judges enjoy absolute immunity from suit for acts taken in their judicial capacity. If a party to a case thinks a judge got something wrong, the remedy is either an appeal or a petition for writ of mandamus. If you think a federal judge is abusing his office, the remedy is to file a judicial misconduct complaint with the clerk of the court of appeals for that circuit or to ask your Congressman to institute articles of impeachment.”

That remedy has passed us by long ago. The tool to remove fascist black-robes must eventually fall to the people through Committees of Safety.