When federal courts fail to punish lawyers for potential misconduct, states can step in

Ray Brescia, Albany Law School

In early August 2025, a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia stopped efforts by federal trial judge James Boasberg to consider whether to hold Trump administration lawyers in contempt of court.

In April, Boasberg had concluded there was probable cause to hold government lawyers in contempt for defying orders he had issued related to the deportation of migrants to a prison in El Salvador.

The appellate court’s ruling found that such contempt proceedings could not go forward on various technical grounds.

As someone who teaches and writes on legal ethics, I believe the questions surrounding whether administration lawyers violated Boasberg’s rulings still can be answered thanks to state bodies that license lawyers to practice law.