Hi Nikole, Emily and Eric,

What a day.

Emily, you asked about the administration’s options after Thursday’s 4­4 split in the immigration lawsuit. As you say, when the Supreme Court divides evenly, it doesn’t issue an opinion and simply affirms the lower court’s judgment. Normally, this would leave the administration free to keep pressing the issue in other circuits.

But there’s a special wrinkle in this case, and it’s a little bit technical. (Bear with me.) The district court issued an injunction with nationwide scope. The government challenged that nationwide injunction before the Fifth Circuit, but it lost. “The Constitution vests the district court with ‘the judicial power of the United States,’ ” the Fifth Circuit said, and “that power is not limited to the district wherein the court sits but extends across the country.” When the Supreme Court affirmed the lowercourt’s judgment on Thursday, it affirmed that nationwide injunction.

That means the administration is basically stuck for now. It could try to find ways to litigate the issue in other circuits or argue that the injunction is void even though the Supreme Court affirmed it on Thursday. But ultimately, if it disobeys the injunction, it risks being held in contempt back in Texas, and Judge Andrew Hanen has already demonstrated that he’s willing to be aggressive if he senses defiance by government lawyers.

Read more at The New York Times Magazine