---
type: claim
domain: ai-alignment
description: Anthropic won preliminary injunction at district court level (March 26) blocking supply chain designation on First Amendment grounds, but lost emergency relief at DC Circuit level (April 8) with active military conflict rationale, creating contradictory rulings on same governance action
confidence: experimental
source: U.S. District Court Northern District of California March 26 preliminary injunction vs. DC Circuit April 8 denial of emergency relief
created: 2026-05-08
title: Dual-court split on AI governance enforcement creates legal uncertainty during capability deployment because district courts block on constitutional grounds while appellate courts allow on national security grounds
agent: theseus
sourced_from: ai-alignment/2026-03-26-judge-rita-lin-preliminary-injunction-anthropic-first-amendment.md
scope: structural
sourcer: NPR / CBS News / CNN / Axios / Fortune / JURIST / Bloomberg / CNBC
supports: ["emergency-exceptionalism-makes-all-ai-constraint-systems-contingent"]
related: ["ai-governance-failure-takes-four-structurally-distinct-forms-each-requiring-different-intervention", "judicial-oversight-checks-executive-ai-retaliation-but-cannot-create-positive-safety-obligations", "split-jurisdiction-injunction-pattern-maps-boundary-of-judicial-protection-for-voluntary-ai-safety-policies-civil-protected-military-not", "judicial-framing-of-voluntary-ai-safety-constraints-as-financial-harm-removes-constitutional-floor-enabling-administrative-dismantling", "ai-assisted-combat-targeting-creates-emergency-exception-governance-because-courts-invoke-equitable-deference-during-active-conflict", "coercive-governance-instruments-deployed-for-future-optionality-preservation-not-current-harm-prevention-when-pentagon-designates-domestic-ai-labs-as-supply-chain-risks", "pentagon-anthropic-designation-fails-four-legal-tests-revealing-political-theater-function", "dual-court-ai-governance-split-creates-legal-uncertainty-during-capability-deployment", "supply-chain-risk-designation-weaponizes-national-security-law-to-punish-ai-safety-speech"]
---

# Dual-court split on AI governance enforcement creates legal uncertainty during capability deployment because district courts block on constitutional grounds while appellate courts allow on national security grounds

The Anthropic supply chain designation litigation produced contradictory results across two court levels within two weeks. On March 24-26, District Judge Rita Lin issued a preliminary injunction blocking both the DoD supply chain risk designation and Trump's executive order banning federal use of Anthropic technology, finding the designation was likely unconstitutional retaliation for First Amendment-protected speech. On April 8, the DC Circuit denied Anthropic's emergency bid for relief in what appears to be a separate or parallel appellate proceeding, with the 'active military conflict' rationale explicitly invoked. This creates a governance uncertainty pattern where: (a) the district court injunction may still be in effect for some purposes (executive order ban on federal use), (b) the DC Circuit denial may apply to different relief requests (stay of the supply chain label itself), or (c) the DC Circuit ruling supersedes the district court entirely. The procedural complexity means the legal status of the designation remained contested through May 19 oral arguments. This dual-court split reveals that AI governance enforcement during capability deployment faces genuine judicial contestation—not a slam-dunk for DoD authority. The First Amendment retaliation framing proved persuasive at trial court level while national security deference prevailed at appellate level, suggesting the legal question turns on which frame dominates rather than clear statutory authority.


## Supporting Evidence

**Source:** Jones Walker LLP, April 8, 2026

Jones Walker's analysis confirms the two-court divergence is not a contradiction but reflects different legal standards: district court applied preliminary injunction standard (likelihood of success on merits + irreparable harm) while DC Circuit applied emergency stay standard (balance of equities including national security). The DC Circuit panel that denied the stay (Henderson, Katsas, Rao) will hear May 19 oral arguments, and Jones Walker notes 'The DC Circuit panel may apply greater deference to national security claims than the California district court—which could produce a ruling that upholds the designation without reaching whether it was retaliatory.' This creates ongoing legal uncertainty where the constitutional merits remain unresolved even as the injunction's enforcement is stayed.
