On August 29, 2018, TDR attorneys won an impressive victory for our client the United States Conference of Mayors in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Conference represents the interests of cities throughout the country.

As a result of the Seventh Circuit’s decision, the Attorney General is enjoined from imposing three unlawful, immigration-related conditions on critical federal funds awarded to Conference member cities under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

The litigation began in June 2018 when the Conference and the City of Evanston brought a lawsuit against the Attorney General in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois challenging the Attorney General’s imposition of the three conditions on Byrne JAG funds. As a result of the Attorney General’s conditions, cities faced a Hobson’s choice: agree to unconstitutional grant conditions or forfeit crucial federal grant funds.

On August 9, 2018, the district court granted the Conference and Evanston’s motion for preliminary injunction, and enjoined the Attorney General from imposing the conditions on Evanston and the Conference’s other member cities. However, the district court stayed the injunction as to the Conference’s members. In response, TDR filed an emergency motion in the Seventh Circuit on behalf of the Conference.

On August 29, 2018, the Seventh Circuit granted the Conference’s emergency motion to lift the district court’s stay and ordered that the district court’s original preliminary injunction go into effect.

The district court case is City of Evanston and United States Conference of Mayors v. Sessions, Case No. 18-cv-4853. The Seventh Circuit case is United States Conference of Mayors v. Sessions, Case No. 18-2734.

TDR partners Brian C. Haussmann, Katherine M. O’Brien, and John M. Fitzgerald, and associate Kyle A. Cooper represent the Conference.