Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[clarencebeaks21]

Declaratory relief is equivalent to *no relief* where the plaintiffs seek backward (‘retrospective’) relief, because…

(1) A declaration is only ‘prospective’ (it operates on a go-forward basis, not a retrospective/backward basis), and
(2) a ‘declaration’ is just what it sounds like: the court repeats a binding opinion’s legal meaning in a summary style (and hopefully without typos)

So the 5 judges in dissenting to Collins remand are effectively saying the only relief should be a Declaration (prospective-operating) that the meaning of the Removal Clause is what SCOTUS said. (I know…right?! It’s about as hollow a victory as a plaintiff can ever get.)