Judge John C Coughenour has temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship
Former President Donald Trump’s executive order to revoke birthright citizenship in the US has been temporarily blocked by the federal Judge John Coughenour in Seattle, who deemed the move “blatantly unconstitutional,” media reported.
Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointment, issued a temporary restraining order Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Nick Brown of Washington and three other states run by Democrats. In order to allow for additional legal briefings, the restraining order stops the policy’s execution for 14 days.
Who is Judge John C Coughenour who temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship, bio, age, education, law school and cases
John C. Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, is not mincing words on the Trump executive order on birthright citizenship.
Here's what he told the administration's lawyers in a lawsuit brought by Washington, Illinois, Oregon, and Arizona.
This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.… pic.twitter.com/M8YYkOMKWb
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) January 23, 2025
“I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear,” Judge Coughenour stated.
83-year Judge John Coughenour was born on July 27, 1941 in Pittsburg. In 1963, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Kansas State College of Pittsburg. In 1966, he graduated with a Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law.
In 1966, Coughenour started working in private practice in Seattle, Washington. From 1970 to 1973, he taught law at the University of Washington as an assistant professor.
After a brief stint on the law faculty at the University of Washington, he was a litigation partner at the Seattle firm of Bogle & Gates, before being nominated by then President Reagan for the federal bench in 1981.
Judge Coughenour served as Chief Judge of the District from 1998 to 2004 an during his time on the bench, he has presided over numerous high-profile trials and delivered several controversial decisions. His notable cases include a bank fraud trial involving the Montana Freemen, an anti-government group that had a three-month standoff with the FBI in 1996; the case of Michael Forwell, the British national sentenced to 15 years in 1996 for attempting to smuggle 72 tons of marijuana into Washington; and the case of Ahmed Ressam, the so-called “Millennium Bomber” who was convicted of attempting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on January 1, 2000 and in 2006, Judge Coughenour assumed senior status, though he continues to maintain a full case load in that capacity.
Coughenour also taught trial advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law for over forty years and served as Chair of the Ninth Circuit working groups on Jury Instructions and Gender Bias, and he is past President of the Ninth Circuit District Judges’ Association.
🚨NEW: Federal Judge John Coughenour has blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order from taking effect, citing the 14th Amendment.
RETWEET to thank Judge Coughenour for standing up for our constitution! pic.twitter.com/nyP4kVtLln
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) January 23, 2025
Judge John Coughenour career
On August 11, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Judge John Coughenour to fill Judge Morell Edward Sharp’s vacancy on the US District Court for the Western District of Washington. “Millennium bomber” Ahmed Ressam, who intended to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Year’s Eve 1999, was first sentenced by Judge Coughenour.
Ressam was given a 22-year prison term by Coughenour on July 27, 2005, along with five years of post-release supervision. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided on February 2, 2010, that Coughenour’s 22-year sentence was excessively light and did not comply with the mandatory sentencing guidelines at the time, which stated that Ressam should have been sentenced to at least 65 years and up to 130 years in prison.
The court mandated that a different district court judge than Coughenour resentence Ressam. The 2010 ruling was later re-examined by a Ninth Circuit en banc panel.
On September 25, 1981, the US Senate confirmed him, and on September 28, 1981, he was commissioned. 1997–2004 was his tenure as chief judge. Senior status was granted to him on July 27, 2006.
On April 7, 2004, and June 4, 2008, Coughenour gave testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
🚨🚨BREAKING: U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, temporarily blocked Trump’s unconstitutional executive order ending birthright citizenship:
"I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is… pic.twitter.com/xPEU89wAgq
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 23, 2025