It was an Amherst alum, U.S. District Court Judge Peter J. Messitte ‘63, who last month rejected President Trump’s latest effort to stop a lawsuit that alleges Trump is violating the Constitution’s previously-obscure “emoluments” clause, which bans federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
The case, and Judge Messitte, are the subject of a recent article penned by the judge’s son Zach Messitte for the Baltimore Sun.
“Public service runs deep in my family,” said the younger Messitte, writing about how a judge’s life experience informs his judicial ability.
“Even though the emoluments case may be the most far-reaching constitutional case of his more than three decades as a judge, my father has heard thousands of cases that have an impact on Maryland: He’s put MS-13 gang members behind bars; adjudicated part of the collapse of the savings and loan industry in the state; and ordered the end of mandatory busing in Prince George’s County, effectively concluding a government effort to desegregate the schools,” he wrote.