Critics Fundamentally Misconstrue the Supreme Court's Bump Stock Ruling
The case hinged on the ATF’s statutory authority, not the Second Amendment.
Administrative Law
Abortion, Guns, and Hunter Biden.
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the Selective Service.
Divided Sixth Circuit Panel Affirms Preliminary Injunction Against Department of Education Title IX Guidance
The court concludes states are likely to succeed in their procedural challenges to the Education Department's decision to extend Bostock to Title IX.
Supreme Court Upholds the Rule of Law by Rejecting the Trump Administration's Bump Stock Ban
Six justices agreed that federal regulators had misconstrued the statutory definition of a machine gun.
Justice Thomas Takes Aim at Associational Standing
In his AHM v. FDA concurrence, Justice Thomas suggests the Court needs to rethink associational standing and questions whether it comports with Article III.
Unanimous Supreme Court Finds No Standing to Challenge FDA Regulation of Mifepristone (UPDATED)
Not a single justice was impressed by the unimpressive standing theories offered in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
Is the Clean Water Act Enforced Less Stringently in Battleground States?
A new study suggests political considerations may influence the enforcement of federal environmental law.
Did Environmental Groups Drop Challenges to SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Because They Lost the Lottery?
Green groups dropped their suits after the various challenges to the SEC's climate disclosure rule were consolidated in a fairly conservative circuit.
Is the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act Unconstitutional?
In an interesting dissent, Judge Allison Eid argues it violates existing nondelegation doctrine precedent.
Labor Board Goes After Amazon CEO for Suggesting Workers Might Be 'Better Off' Without Unions
The First Amendment applies even to the CEOs of successful companies, but the NLRB seems to disagree.
A Cruel and Risky Abortion Ban Versus an Overreaching Interpretation of Federal Law
There are no good sides in today's Supreme Court case concerning the EMTALA and abortion.
Will the FDA Adopt an Arbitrary and Capricious Ban on Menthol Cigarettes?
The research the FDA relies upon to claim banning menthol cigarettes would improve public health is not aligned with the agency's approach to tobacco regulation.
Department of Transportation Lacks the Authority to Require States to Set Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets for Highways
A district court concludes that the Department of Transportation lacks the authority to force states to try and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with highway use.
Who Can Sue the Food and Drug Administration?
If doctors cannot sue the FDA for failing to restrict pharmaceuticals or other products, can anyone else? And if not, is this a problem?
Mifepristone in the Supreme Court - Comments on Oral Argument (Updated)
Live commentary on the Supreme Court oral argument in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
Can Emergency Room Doctors Sue the FDA for Failing to Regulate Mifepristone More Aggressively?
The threshold issue in today's oral argument is Article III standing, and that issue should be determinative.
Supreme Court Shows Little Interest in Investigating Executive Power under the Antiquities Act
Yet another case that Justice Kavanaugh would like to hear that does not interest enough of his colleagues.
Solicitor General Takes Vaping to the Supreme Court
The Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit's Rejection of the FDA's "Surprise Switcheroo."
Does the Law of Standing "Need a Rewrite" After TransUnion?
Another federal appellate judge expresses discontent with current standing doctrine.
Does Anonymity Defeat Associational Standing?
The Second Circuit divides over whether an association must identify an injured member by name for the purposes of Article III. (Updated)
SCOTUS Ponders the Implications of Prosecuting Gun Owners for a Crime Invented by Bureaucrats
Several justices seemed troubled by an ATF rule that purports to ban bump stocks by reinterpreting the federal definition of machine guns.
Did Justice Jackson Disclose the Outcome in Relentless and Loper-Bright? (UPDATED)
Did we get a hint to the outcome in one of this term's bigger cases at today's oral argument?
Supreme Court Denies Red State Effort to Intervene in Mifepristone Case
The Court also rejects a late-filed amicus briefs from the American Bar Association, but accepts one from former FDA Commissioners.
Whether Chevron Stands or Falls, Any Deference Should Be Based Upon Delegation, Not Ambiguity
Some thoughts on the most important issue in Relentless and Loper Bright.
Video of Federalist Society "Seat at the Sitting" Panel on Upcoming Supreme Court Cases
The panel covered many cases and featured views many would not expect at a Fed Soc event.
BREAKING: Supreme Court to Consider Fifth Circuit's Abortion Pill Decision
The Court granted two petitions for certiorari seeking review of a controversial lower court decision limiting federal approval of mifepristone.
Supreme Court Dismisses ADA Tester Standing Suit as Moot
The Supreme Court's first decision of the term does not decide very much.
SEC v. Jarkesy and the Future of Agency Adjudication
An important challenge to the use of agency adjudication to enforce federal regulations.
Do You Still Have the Right to a Jury Trial?
The Supreme Court will consider whether federal agencies’ administrative judges violate the Seventh Amendment.
The Supreme Court Should Not Let Bureaucrats Invent Crimes by Rewriting the Law
The Trump administration’s unilateral ban on bump stocks turned owners of those rifle accessories into felons.
Supreme Court Denies Review of Social Cost of Carbon Challenge
The Court saw no reason to consider the Eighth Circuit's conclusion that the states lacked standing.
What If They Amended the Administrative Procedure Act and No One Noticed?
Congress made a small addition to the requirements for notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Is It Unamicable to Reject the Argument of a Friendly Amicus Brief?
The Solicitor General rejects an academic argument offered in defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Another Appeals Court Accuses the FDA of Committing "Surprise Switcheroo"
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit takes issue with how the FDA evaluated Fontem's unflavored vaping products.
Is OMB Stacking the Deck for More Progressive Cost-Benefit Analysis?
The Biden Administration is revising the rules for how agencies conduct cost-benefit analyses, and some CBA experts have expressed concerns.
Fourth Circuit Concedes to Congress on Mountain Valley Pipeline
The judges recognize that Congress ended their ability to review the Mountain Valley Pipeline, but they seem none too happy about it.
The Major Questions Doctrine "Reflects a Deeply Held Impulse in Common Law Adjudication."
The idea that greater assertions of executive authority require greater support than ordinary acts is not a new one.
Lots of Administrative Law On Tap for Next Supreme Court Term
The Court will consdier whether to invalidate the CFPB's funding, narrow standing, and overturn Chevron, among other things.
John Sununu on Boyden Gray's Legal Legacy
C. Boyden Gray was a pivotal figure within the Republican Party on environmental law.
In Sackett v. EPA, the Supreme Court Cuts Back Federal Regulatory Authority Over Wetlands
The Clean Water Act decision was a unanimous win for the Sacketts, and a 5-4 victory for Justice Scalia's 2006 Rapanos v. United States plurality.
Will We Ever Get an SEC Climate Disclosure Rule?
The Securities & Exchange Commission again delays issuing a controversial anticipated rule.
Summary Reversal of Sixth Circuit in Calcutt v. FDIC Reaffirms the Importance of Chenery I
A welcome reminder that reviewing courts must judge the propriety of agency actions solely by the grounds invoked by the agency.
Supreme Court Could Rein In Administrative State With New Case
Plus: Divides over misinformation, on free markets and social justice, and more…
Chevron Matters— But Not as Much as You Might Think
Overruling Chevron won't gut the administrative state or even severely constrain it. But it could help strengthen the rule of law.
Has the Supreme Court Put Chevron in the Crosshairs?
One of today's two cert grants comes in a case asking the justices to reconsider Chevron v. NRDC.
Sixth Circuit Panel Rejects Bump Stock Ban (Again)
A three-judge panel concludes that bump stocks cannot be considered machine gun parts under the rule of lenity.
Public Opinion about Regulation
Is the publc getting what it wants from the administrative state?
Unanimous Supreme Court Affirms Right to Challenge Federal Agencies in Federal Court
Those claiming they are subject to unconstitutional agency proceedings need not suffer through agency proceedings before bringing their claims to federal court.
