Legal opinions usually aren’t exciting. This one has everyone talking

Oct. 1, 2025 | Katelyn Polantz | CNN

Not since the years before the Civil War had a trial-level federal judge signed off on an opinion simply as “Judge of the United States.”

But Senior Judge William Young, a nearly 50-year veteran trial-level judge in Massachusetts, decided the time is now, and then some.

In a book-length opinion on Tuesday, Young ruled that the Trump administration can’t deny First Amendment protections to non-citizens, such as pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses, or retaliate against them because of their positions. The opinion rules against the Trump administration’s immigration policy, and executive orders, and harshly critiques President Donald Trump’s approach to using his power. …