Justice Department must reinstate ABA domestic violence grants, judge says
Source: Politico
Justice Department must reinstate ABA domestic violence grants, judge says
The termination of grants aimed at supporting victims of domestic violence was unconstitutional retaliation, a federal judge ruled.
By DANIEL BARNES
05/14/2025 04:11 PM EDT
The Justice Department unconstitutionally retaliated against the American Bar Association by terminating grants for a program aimed at helping victims of domestic violence, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Five grants from DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women to the ABA’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence totaling $3.2 million must be reinstated and fully paid out, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled.
“The ABA has made a strong showing that Defendants terminated its grants to retaliate against it for engaging in protected speech,” Cooper wrote.
The grants at issue were terminated on April 10, one day after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo laying out new DOJ policy that severely limits the ability of department employees to attend or participate in ABA events or programs. The memo was sent to all department employees after the ABA joined an earlier lawsuit challenging a freeze on foreign aid grants via the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The ABA, the largest national association of lawyers in the country, then sued the Justice Department on April 23 over the canceled grants.
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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/american-bar-association-doj-grants-injunction-00349689
Hat tip, Chris Gender
"The government does not meaningfully contest the merits of the ABA's First Amendment retaliation claim." DOJ argued the case should be in the Court of Federal Claims. But, "the ABA's retaliation claim springs from the First Amendment to the Constitution, not the relevant grant agreements."
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) 2025-05-14T17:29:32.989Z