Summary

Limits federal district courts to issuing injunctions only for the parties before them, and only to stop a defendant’s actions as they relate to the specific party who asked for the order. In practice, a judge could not block a law, rule, or policy nationwide or for people who are not parties in the case. This applies to all types of injunctions (temporary restraining orders, preliminary, and permanent). It does not specify timing or exceptions, and it does not address what appellate courts or the Supreme Court may do.

Key Points

• Restricts district courts to issuing injunctions that protect only the plaintiff who requested relief, against a party in the same case.
• Effectively bars district courts from issuing nationwide or universal injunctions that cover nonparties.
• Applies to all forms of injunctive relief (TROs, preliminary, permanent).
• Does not address what courts of appeals or the Supreme Court may order on appeal.
• Could limit states’ ability to obtain broad relief against federal policies in multi-state lawsuits.
• May increase the need for class certification to extend relief beyond named plaintiffs.
• Likely leads to more case-by-case outcomes and fewer uniform nationwide remedies from trial courts.
• Contains no funding, tax, or programmatic provisions and no explicit effective date.

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