Abuse of discretion isn’t just a buzz word that describes the actions of activist judges, it’s a real thing. We begin with the definition:

Abuse of discretion is a standard of review used by appellate courts to review decisions of lower courts. The appellate court will typically find that the decision was an abuse of discretion if the discretionary decision was made in plain error.”

Errors don’t get much plainer than Judge K’s ruling in the abortion pill case. It’s so bad that I think he and Judge Aileen Castro should form a coven of cretinous judges.

There’s been much talk of judge shopping in this case. I prefer the traditional term forum shopping. The end result is the same: lousy law from a rotten judge.

The Dobbs ruling opened the floodgates for dangerous nonsense from dim jurists like Judge K. Harry Blackmun weeps.

The substance of Judge K’s ruling denies the FDA the right to approve and reject drugs. In this case, Mifepristone, which was approved some 20 years ago. It’s a safe alternative to surgery; something that both science and the law should view favorably. Judge K doesn’t give a shit about either. Instead, he’s a fount of anti-abortion buzzwords and misinformation:

“Because mifepristone alone will not always complete the abortion, FDA mandates a two-step drug regimen: mifepristone to kill the unborn human, followed by misoprostol to induce cramping and contractions to expel the unborn human from the mother’s womb.”

I wish it were possible to expel this born human from his Amarillo courthouse, but impeachment is the only way to do it. The votes just aren’t there for either Judge K or Harlan Crow’s pal Corrupt Clarence.

Let’s get back to the law. Lawyers dig bullet points so let’s go there:

• A district court judge does NOT have the authority to issue a nationwide stay on any issue.
• The plaintiffs in this case lack standing to sue.
• The case is NOT timely because the drug was approved two decades ago.
• The ruling is overbroad and violates the principles of administrative law.
•  The judge is an intellectually dishonest dolt with bad hair.

The last point isn’t a legal one, but it had to be said. That haircut, too, is an abuse of discretion.

Judge K’s ruling is the latest attack on women and their ability to control their own bodies. He calls doctors abortionists and has the right-wing attachment to the term unborn. At least he doesn’t call them pre-born. His opinion is still born. It’s like the sort of botched back-alley abortion that rulings like this make inevitable.

In a sane world, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would shoot this ruling down immediately. Unfortunately, the New Orleans based court, which sits in a building named for the great John Minor Wisdom is populated by pinheads and right-wing extremists.

Repeat after me: Don’t call them conservatives.

Judge K’s logic, however, is so flimsy that that even that coven of cretins might agree with DOJ and slap him down. I’m not making any predictions, but this sort of judicial immodesty doesn’t give higher courts anything to hide behind. Stay tuned.

Finally, I decided to use the initial of the last name of the judge in this case instead of repeatedly typing or cutting and pasting Kacsmaryk. It evokes one of my least favorite sports figures, Coach K. I usually call  him Coach Buy-a-Vowel, but Judge Buy-a-Vowel is more awkward than Judge K, which also evokes Kafka’s The Trial and Josef K. That concludes this evocative paragraph as well as the post.

The last word goes to Robert Earl Keen with an Amarillo song that mentions pills. Judge K *is* a pill.