Progressive litigants challenging President Donald Trump immigration policies in his first hours in office filed three separate suits within the jurisdiction of the Boston-based federal appeals court.
It’s an early hint that the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, where all five active judges are Democratic appointees, could prove to be a magnet for liberals seeking to thwart Trump priorities.
Even as other circuits, including the once notably liberal Ninth Circuit, shifted rightward thanks to Trump’s first term appointments, the First Circuit encompassing four New England states plus Puerto Rico remains potentially friendlier territory.
“That’s a pretty Democratic-controlled ...