A federal judge in California’s ruling that the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops was illegal in Los Angeles may have repercussions for Baltimore in the future.
District Judge Charles R. Breyer ruled that the White House used the National Guard illegally for law enforcement activities, breaking federal law.
National Guard troops are only supposed to be used to protect law enforcement and not for enforcement activities.
Breyer stated that it seemed that the administration was “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”
While the ruling is only valid in California and does not go into effect until Sept. 12, it could help Maryland leaders push back on any Guard deployments in Baltimore.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to send the Guard into Baltimore, claiming it will reduce crime.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Virginia, said Trump will still be able to deploy troops, but Maryland will likely have a better case if it decides to challenge the deployment or the activities of the Guard in court after the California ruling.
“My sense with Baltimore is that the judges may agree with Judge Breyer, if it comes to that,” Tobias said.
However, it could go the other way as well.
Anthony Kuhn, a managing partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC, said he thinks what is considered law enforcement activities can be ambiguous and up for debate.
“Putting the soldiers out there to take a defensive posture and help to defend and protect those federal law enforcement officers has really changed,” Kuhn said, referring to the type of activities the Guard may conduct.
The Trump administration’s order does not explain exactly what the Guard’s role was in Los Angeles or would be in Baltimore.
Breyer pointed specifically to the Guard’s Task Force 51 as exceeding the restrictions.
"The record is replete with evidence that Task Force 51 executed domestic law in these prohibited ways," Breyer wrote. "Bystanders at multiple locations and even federal officials at trial were unable to distinguish Task Force 51 troops from federal law enforcement agents."
It may purely depend on how a judge in Maryland or an appellate judge interprets the activities of the Guard if it is deployed in Baltimore as to whether it’s legal.
However, the courts still tend to take long periods of time to decide on cases, which may mean the Guard will be able to continue to operate illegally if deployed in Baltimore until the state or city gets a decision on its challenge.
