The Daily Fuckup

The D.C. Circuit heard oral argument on May 14 in a set of consolidated cases involving Perkins Coie and a separate appeal brought by attorney Mark Zaid. The court’s public advisory set the arguments for 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 20 and identified the case numbers on the calendar. It did not announce any decision at the hearing. ([cadc.uscourts.gov](https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/news/public-advisory-may-14-2026-oral-arguments-no-25-5241-et-al-perkins-coie-llp-v-doj-et-al-and-no))

That matters because the appeals are aimed at orders and related actions that lower courts had already blocked. With no appellate ruling issued at argument, those injunctions remained in place for the time being. That is a procedural status, not a merits win for either side, but it leaves the challenged measures frozen while the panel takes the cases under advisement. ([cadc.uscourts.gov](https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/news/public-advisory-may-14-2026-oral-arguments-no-25-5241-et-al-perkins-coie-llp-v-doj-et-al-and-no))

The dispute is broader than one law firm. The Perkins Coie case sits alongside the separate Mark Zaid appeal, and the government’s position has also shown up in another front: a Justice Department complaint filed May 13 against D.C. disciplinary authorities over what DOJ called their handling of federal government attorneys. In that filing, DOJ said it was acting under President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the weaponization of the federal government and a related presidential memorandum on legal-system abuses. ([cadc.uscourts.gov](https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/news/public-advisory-may-14-2026-oral-arguments-no-25-5241-et-al-perkins-coie-llp-v-doj-et-al-and-no))

The practical takeaway from the May 14 hearing is narrow but important. The judges heard the arguments; they did not resolve the appeals on the spot. Until the court issues something new, the district-court blocks remain in force and the challenged sanctions cannot take effect. ([cadc.uscourts.gov](https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/news/public-advisory-may-14-2026-oral-arguments-no-25-5241-et-al-perkins-coie-llp-v-doj-et-al-and-no))