The draft mixes two real Supreme Court actions, but the timing and several legal details are off. Neither ruling is from this week.
Immigration judges. On May 26, 2026, the Court in Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges (No. 25-767) granted the Justice Department’s petition, reversed the Fourth Circuit, and sent the case back. The opinion was unsigned. No justice noted a dissent. It was not a First Amendment win on the speaking policy itself.
The policy, from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, requires immigration judges to get approval before public statements tied to their official duties, such as immigration conferences or pro bono training. The National Association of Immigration Judges, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute, sued in Alexandria in 2020, arguing the rule is a prior restraint on personal speech about immigration and the agency. Judge Leonie Brinkema dismissed in 2023, holding that the Civil Service Reform Act channels those claims to the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel, not a district-court lawsuit.
In June 2025 the Fourth Circuit vacated that dismissal on its own initiative. It ordered fact-finding on whether the CSRA system still works as Congress intended, citing the MSPB’s lack of a quorum and the administration’s view that the president can remove MSPB and Special Counsel members at will. The parties had not raised that theory. The Supreme Court reversed on the party-presentation rule: federal courts decide the case the parties argued, and are not “roving commissions” looking for wrongs to right. It also denied the judges’ cross-petition. On remand, the Fourth Circuit on August 19, 2026, affirmed the dismissal, modified to a dismissal without prejudice.
There is no separate Thomas opinion, joined by Barrett, in the published per curiam order saying the Fourth Circuit was also wrong on the merits. The Court did not decide whether the speaking rule violates the First Amendment.
E. Jean Carroll. The $5 million denial is also not from this week. The Court refused review on June 29, 2026, with no noted dissents and no explanation, which is normal on a cert denial. It refused a rehearing request on August 17, 2026. Trump paid Carroll in July, about $5.8 million with interest. In late September the Second Circuit dismissed his remaining appeal of that judgment with prejudice after he withdrew it. That $5 million finding is final.
The separate $83.3 million defamation award is still being contested, including on presidential immunity and Westfall Act grounds. Carroll is not still waiting to collect the $5 million judgment.
Sources: the Court’s per curiam in Margolin, SCOTUSblog’s May 26 account, the Fourth Circuit’s August 19 remand opinion, and AP and New York Times reporting on the June 29 and August 17 Carroll orders
