Cite as: 530 U. S. 327 (2000)
Opinion of the Court
the prisoners' motion, enjoining the automatic stay. See id., Doc. No. 23; see also French v. Duckworth, 178 F. 3d 437, 440-441 (CA7 1999). The State appealed, and the United States intervened pursuant to 28 U. S. C. § 2403(a) to defend the constitutionality of § 3626(e)(2).
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's order, concluding that although § 3626(e)(2) precluded courts from exercising their equitable powers to enjoin operation of the automatic stay, the statute, so construed, was unconstitutional on separation of powers grounds. See 178 F. 3d, at 447-448. The court reasoned that Congress drafted § 3626(e)(2) in unequivocal terms, clearly providing that a motion to terminate under § 3626(b)(2) "shall operate" as a stay during a specified time period. Id., at 443. While acknowledging that courts should not lightly assume that Congress meant to restrict the equitable powers of the federal courts, the Court of Appeals found "it impossible to read this language as doing anything less than that." Ibid. Turning to the constitutional question, the court characterized § 3626(e)(2) as "a self-executing legislative determination that a specific decree of a federal court . . . must be set aside at least for a period of time." Id., at 446. As such, it concluded that § 3626(e)(2) directly suspends a court order in violation of the separation of powers doctrine under Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U. S. 211 (1995), and mandates a particular rule of decision, at least during the pendency of the § 3626(b)(2) termination motion, contrary to United States v. Klein, 13 Wall. 128 (1872). See 178 F. 3d, at 446. Having concluded that § 3626(e)(2) is unconstitutional on separation of powers grounds, the Court of Appeals did not reach the prisoners' due process claims. Over the dissent of three judges, the court denied rehearing en banc. See id., at 448-453 (Easterbrook, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc).
We granted certiorari, 528 U. S. 1045 (1999), to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals as to whether
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