Lawyers argue that the country has reached a tipping point and that the right question is not whether there is a crisis but how much damage it will cause.
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The Trump administration's defiance of a federal judge's order has raised new questions about whether the latest clash between President Trump and the judiciary amounts to a constitutional crisis.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration ignored a federal judge's order not to deport a group of Venezuelan men, violating an order that could not have been clearer or more direct.
Justice Department lawyers later defended the administration's actions with claims that many legal experts called bordering on frivolity.
They say the line between arguing for a claimed right to disobey court orders and outright defiance has become blurred, raising questions about whether the latest clash between President Trump and the judiciary amounts to a constitutional crisis.
Legal experts say that is no longer the right question. Mr. Trump is already undermining the separation of powers that underpins the constitutional system, they say, and the right question now is how that will change the country.
“If someone is detained or expelled based on the administration’s assertion that it can do so without judicial review or due process,” said Jamal Green, a Columbia University law professor, “then the president is asserting dictatorial power, and the term ‘constitutional crisis’ does not capture the gravity of the situation.”
Mr. Trump raised the stakes on Tuesday by calling for the impeachment of the judge who issued the ruling, James E. Boasberg of the Federal District Court in Washington, calling him a “radical left-wing lunatic” on social media.
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