Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman on ruling: “Welcome news for the survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their families, who rely on trauma-informed attorneys to help them stay safe”

Washington, D.C. – This week, Democracy Forward won a preliminary injunction in its case challenging the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) cancellation of grants the American Bar Association relies on to train and provide technical assistance to lawyers and judges who work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

These grants, and the important work they support, were abruptly canceled on April 10, 2025 – a day after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum “Engagement with the American Bar Association,” which singled out the ABA for what Blanche called “support of activist causes” and the ABA’s litigation against the federal government. The ABA’s lawsuit, American Bar Association v. Department of Justice, et. al, challenges DOJ’s termination of the ABA’s grants as retaliation in violation of the First Amendment and unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Read the original filing here and the preliminary injunction issued today here.

See Coverage Below:

CNN: Justice Department’s ending of grants for domestic violence programs is likely unconstitutional, judge finds

A federal judge said Wednesday that the Trump Justice Department likely engaged in unconstitutional retaliation when it cut off grants to American Bar Association programs assisting victims of domestic violence.

The preliminary order from US District Judge Casey Cooper requires the Trump administration to pay out the $2 million in grant funding it still owes to the programs, which provide training to lawyers who work with victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Cooper concluded that the terminations were connected to the ABA’s involvement in a lawsuit challenging a Trump freeze on foreign assistance, amounting to retaliation of speech protected by the First Amendment.

In a statement, Democracy Forward, which is representing the ABA in the case, called the ruling “welcome news for the survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their families, who rely on trauma-informed attorneys to help them stay safe.”

Reuters: Judge temporarily blocks canceling of ABA grants amid Trump crackdown

A judge in Washington on Wednesday temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Justice from canceling $3.2 million in grants to the American Bar Association to train lawyers to represent victims of domestic and sexual violence.

The ABA sued the Justice Department in April, claiming the agency illegally terminated federal grants in retaliation for the lawyer organization’s public criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper granted the ABA’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the government from terminating the grants as the case moves forward.

“The First Amendment injury is concrete and ongoing,” Cooper wrote in his opinion, opens new tab. “The ABA regularly engages in protected expressive activity, and DOJ’s termination of its grants directly punishes that activity.”

An attorney for the ABA, Skye Perryman, president and chief executive of the nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward, said in a statement Cooper’s order found that the Justice Department was unconstitutionally targeting the bar association because of its “stance on the importance of the rule of law and our Constitution.”

Bloomberg Law: ABA Grant Withdrawal by Trump Administration Halted by Judge

A DC federal judge ordered the Justice Department to temporarily freeze its moves to terminate grants to the American Bar Association.

The order comes after a May 12 hearing at which Judge Christopher Cooper peppered both sides with queries into jurisdiction and the change in the Justice Department’s priorities. Cooper granted the ABA’s request for a preliminary injunction, writing in an opinion that the government does not meaningfully contest the merits of the ABA’s First Amendment retaliation claim.

The ABA, represented by Democracy Forward, sued the Justice Department over $3.2 million worth of terminated grants on April 23, saying the withdrawal is an effort to “retaliate against the ABA for taking positions the current administration disfavors.”

“For decades, the American Bar Association has provided critical training to lawyers to enable the provision of essential legal services to survivors,” Skye Perryman, president and chief executive officer of Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “The court recognized today that the ABA is being unconstitutionally targeted by the Department of Justice because of their longstanding and unchanged stance on the importance of the rule of law and our Constitution.”

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.