Wong Kim Ark as the Key Precedent

... and they really never should have been laughed in to court in the first place.

OA1249 - Solicitor General D. John Sauer got plenty of laughs when he brought his best April Fool’s Day game to the Supreme Court this week, and we’re here to break down the  single stupidest case the federal government has ever presented. Matt brings the receipts to show just how badly the Trump administration’s arguments against the plain text of the Constitution and the binding precedent of U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) went, and why he is willing to bet his house on the fact that even this SCOTUS will have no choice but to find that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” means exactly what it says that it means. 

1. “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” The White House (1/20/2026)

2. U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898)[PDF]

3. Brief for the Petitioners in Trump v. Barbara

4. Brief for Respondents in Trump v. Barbara

5. Trump v. Barbara Supreme Court oral argument transcript (4/1/2026)

6. Amicus brief filed by Prof. Evan Bernick & Prof. Jed Shugerman

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