A federal court hearing in Baltimore on Wednesday showed U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen is doubtful about the Justice Department’s unprecedented effort to sue all 15 federal district judges in Maryland. The department wants the court to strike down a standing order that automatically bars the immediate deportation of migrants for two business days when they file habeas corpus petitions. Chief Judge George L. Russell III issued the order on May 21 after a surge in deportation challenges. Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Hedges argued the pause amounts to an unlawful injunction that frustrates President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation plans and impairs the government’s “sovereign interests” each time it is applied. Cullen pressed the government on why it bypassed normal appellate channels, remarking that the suit against a co-equal branch “takes it up about six notches.” Paul Clement, representing the Maryland judges, said the department could have appealed an individual case or sought emergency relief from the Fourth Circuit or the Supreme Court, options that would avoid discovery battles and cross-branch depositions. While the judge appeared somewhat more receptive to the government’s request for a preliminary injunction if the case survives dismissal, he repeated that he has “some skepticism” about the overall lawsuit. Cullen said he will rule on the motions to dismiss and for injunctive relief “as quickly as I can by Labor Day,” signalling that higher courts may ultimately decide whether the Justice Department can sue the judiciary to revoke the deportation stay.