Union's case against Trump administration's funding requirements is moot

Here is another case that originates from the current political environment: a teachers' union sued the U.S. Department of Justice, the Attorney General, and other high-ranking federal officials, challenging the Trump administration's termination of approximately $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University and its demand that the University agree to certain programmatic changes that would align with the conservative administration's policies. But then Columbia and the government struck a deal to restore the majority of the funding and Columbia agreed to implement certain reforms. Is the case now moot?

The case is American Association of University Professors v. U.S. Department of Justice, issued on May 14. The case is moot, says the majority (Chin and Kahn [Menashi dissents]), because the requested relief is no longer needed; the parties agreed to resolve the case on their own without court intervention. 

In the district court, the judge held the union lacked standing to even bring the case, and it thus denied the motion for preliminary injunction. The union appealed to the Second Circuit. While the case started out as an exciting attack on the Trump administration and its effort to force universities to adopt its policies, the case ends in a whimper, as the Second Circuit explores whether the case is moot and, if so, whether to vacate the lower court ruling in favor of the union. 

The question is what to do about the district court ruling that denied the preliminary injunction on standing grounds. The default rule is to vacate, or do away with, the ruling, which "clears the path for future relitigation of the issues between the parties" and ensures that unreviewable judgments do not "spawn any legal consequences." We have special rules guiding whether to vacate the lower court ruling, including whether the appellant is at fault for causing the mootness. For instance, if the appellant acts in a manner intending to moot the appeal, then we don't vacate the lower court ruling. But if the appeal becomes moot because of the appellant's good faith actions, then we have vacatur. In this case, the majority opts to vacate the lower court ruling because Columbia and the government took steps to mooting the case by reaching an out-of court resolution.