Amy Coney Barrett Questions Class Certification in Birthright Citizenship Case

Class Certification and National Injunctions

• ⚖️ Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned an attorney regarding the rigor of class certification for national injunctions.
• 💡 The discussion focused on whether 23B2 classes are sufficiently rigorous for injunctive relief concerning uniform national policies.

Inapplicability to State Litigation

• 🚫 The attorney argued that the class certification framework does not apply to state litigation.
• 🏛️ Precedents clearly state that states cannot represent individuals in class actions, and there are no classes of states.
• 🎯 Therefore, the class device is not a viable alternative for the injunction concerning states.

Relief for States

• ❓ Barrett inquired why states should be concerned if the class device is unavailable when bucket one relief (nationwide injunction) could solve their problems.
• 🗣️ The attorney clarified that states are seeking relief in bucket one and two, but not in bucket three, as they are not suing to vindicate the injuries of third parties or their residents.

Burdens of Partial Injunctions

• 📉 If a nationwide injunction is not granted, states will face significant burdens, hindering the administration and participation in their benefits programs.
• ⚠️ This could lead to unprecedented chaos on the ground due to incomplete relief.