My New Dispatch Article on Judicial Review of Emergency Powers
It makes the case for strong judicial review of executive invocations of sweeping emergency powers.
Law & Government
Veteran With PTSD Can Sue the Cops Who Arrested Him for Panhandling and Tased His Service Dog, Court Rules
Joshua Rohrer's dog, Sunshine, ran away and was later hit and killed by a car.
Law Firms Take Fewer Pro Bono Clients After Trump's Unconstitutional Orders
Even though the president has lost every time the orders have come before a judge, big law firms are still hesitant to upset the king and incur his wrath.
Justice Kavanaugh on the Peril of Writing Shadow Docket Opinions
Rushing out opinions can lock in erroneous conclusions and create problematic precedent.
On Sanctuary Cities, It's Trump vs. the 10th Amendment
The anticommandeering doctrine stands in the way of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
We're Lying to Ourselves About Taxes, Spending, and the Debt
It's time to ask what level of spending Americans truly want with the money we actually have.
The Government Took Their Home Equity Over Modest Debts. Michigan's Supreme Court Just Threw Them a Lifeline.
Years after home equity theft was ruled unconstitutional, Michigan keeps looking for ways around the ruling.
Can Trump Use Emergency Powers To Tax All Imports? His Tariffs Are Back in Court on Thursday.
To win in court, the Trump administration will have to argue against a pair of legal theories that conservatives have spent years developing as a way to check executive power.
The Justice Department Powerfully Defends Alina Habba's Appointment as Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey
The Department's filing makes a strong case that Habba's appointment is proper. The courts should quickly reject defendants' challenge to the appointment.
The ACLU Says a New York Official Violated the NRA's First Amendment Rights. They Still Can't Sue Her.
A federal court concluded the official was entitled to qualified immunity in a case that united two unlikely allies.
The Attorney General Can Put Her Own Legal Team in Place—through U.S. Attorneys in New Jersey and Elsewhere
Acting through through Section 546, or temporarily through the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the Attorney General is entitled to appoint U.S. Attorneys for the District of New Jersey and all other federal judicial districts. If done properly, such appointments preempt any need for judges to appoint U.S. Attorneys. But it is important that the President submit a nominee for the position for Senate confirmation.
Mistaking Adherence to Formalist Principle for Appeasement
The Supreme Court's critics are too quick to assume the Court's orders are motivated by political considerations as opposed to principle.
Why Does the Government Run Air Traffic Control?
Air traffic control is simply too important to leave up to the politicians.
The Freedom of Information Act Is Failing Due to Government Bloat
In FY 2024, over 200,000 Freedom of Information Act requests were backlogged, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The FBI Seized Her $40,000 Without Explaining Why. She Fought Back Against That Practice—and Lost.
The twist underscores just how little accountability exists in civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize assets without charging the owner with a crime.
The Statute Allowing Judges to Appoint Interim U.S. Attorneys is Constitutional
Steve Calabresi's argument that judges cannot make such interim appointments is ultimately unpersuasive, as the Appointments Clause specifically allows Congress to vest such power in the Judiciary.
Environmental Protection Agency
Why Is the Army Corps Still Harassing Idaho Landowners?
Idaho landowners are facing ruinous fines because the Army Corps of Engineers refuses to follow the Supreme Court’s Clean Water Act ruling in Sackett v. EPA.
Pennsylvania's Liquor Monopoly Is Imposing a New Fee That Will Cost $15 Million Per Year
The new warehousing fee targets booze producers, but drinkers could end up paying most of the tab.
Religious Exemption Claim by Nonprofit Providing Supervised Illegal Drug Use Can Go Forward
The Third Circuit held that such organizations may raise religious exemption claims, though it declined to decide (at this stage of the litigation) whether the claim would prevail on the facts of this case.
Appointment of Interim U.S. Attorneys
The attorney general can appoint interim U.S. Attorneys to successive 120-day terms of office unless the nominee is someone to whom the Senate has refused to give advice and consent by a vote either in committee or on the floor.
Michigan Wineries Win $50 Million in Fight Against Local Zoning Rules
A federal judge ruled that Peninsula Township’s former restrictions on music, events, and grape sourcing violated the rights of local wineries.
If Trump Wants American Businesses To Thrive, He Should Get Rid of Government Subsidies
Federal subsidies undermine American companies, breed dependency, and stifle competition.
My Jotwell Review of Michael Ramsey's "The Originalist Case Against the Insular Cases"
The article makes a compelling argument that has broader implications.
Boston Judge Dismisses Over 120 Cases Because There Aren't Enough Public Defense Attorneys
After a pay dispute led to a work stoppage in late May, courts in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, dismissed cases of indigent defendants who had no legal representation for 45 days.
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Is Unconstitutional, Says the First Appeals Court to Consider the Issue
The judgment is not surprising, since the president's reading of the 14th Amendment contradicts its text and history, plus 127 years of Supreme Court precedent.
What Neil Gorsuch Gets Wrong About Judges and Government Power
Plus: Ozzy Osbourne, RIP.
SCOTUS Stays Injunction Against Removal of CPSC Commissioners
Further indication that independent agencies will not be "independent" much longer.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Dead Wrong About Outlawing Climate Geoengineering
An unholy alliance between MAGA and progressives to ban research on an emergency backup plan to cool the planet may be emerging.
Virginia Is Using AI To Identify Illegal and Redundant Regulations
While other states are focused on regulating AI, Virginia is using the technology to repeal regulations.
Police Officer Threatens To Run Over Protester for Filming on the Sidewalk
The city of Allentown has spent more than $2 million settling excessive force claims, and yet the police still crack down on civilians exercising their constitutional rights.
Society for the Rule of Law Webinar on "Tariffs and the Rule of Law"
I participated along with Andrew Morris of the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
Can Wall Street Survive a Socialist Mayor?
If Zohran Mamdani turns socialist rhetoric into policy, New York’s financial giants may not stick around to see how that plays out.
NYT: EPA Embarking on Endangerment Finding Fool's Errand
A new report suggests the Trump EPA is not content with cutting off stationary source regulation of greenhouse gases.
Universal Injunctions Are Dead; Long Live Universal Remedies?
Trump v. CASA was important, but it is not clear district courts have gotten the message.
Counsel, You've Suddenly Gone All Literary on Me
Plus, "He claims that, going forward, he will undertake certain 'remedial efforts,' including, inter alia, 'establish[ing] ... database reconciliation procedures involving resolution of discrepancies through direct consultation of archival legal resources and substitution of alternative, verifiable authorities where necessary.' Most lawyers simply call this 'conducting legal research.'"
Lawmakers Wonder Why a Mountain Climber Was Prosecuted for Climbing a Mountain
Two members of the House Judiciary Committee say the case against Michelino Sunseri epitomizes the overcriminalization that the president decries.
Major Orange Juice Importer Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Planned Brazil Tariffs
The case raises many of the same issues as our case against Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
A Social Security Bailout Would Cost Younger Workers $157,000 in Higher Taxes
To keep Social Security solvent without cutting benefits would require a massive hike in payroll taxes, which would fall entirely on working Americans.
The Problem With the Supreme Court's 'Shadow Docket'
Plus: Did Mario Vargas Llosa write the world’s greatest political novel?
"Yes, The Founders Were Originalists"
A critical review of a new book on history and originalism.
For Years, Oregon Stole People's Home Equity Over Modest Tax Debts. A New Law Puts an End to That.
The state just cracked down on a form of state-sanctioned robbery, where governments seized and sold homes over minor tax delinquencies—and then pocketed the profits.
'Subway Surfing' Death Suit Against TikTok, Meta Further Chips Away at Section 230
Norma Nazario blames her son's death on social media algorithms.
Trump, Who Wants To 'Straighten Out the Press,' Sues The Wall Street Journal Over 'Fake' Epstein Letter
Whatever the merits of this particular defamation claim, the president has a long history of abusing the legal system to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Feds Try To Bankrupt a Moving Company for Hiring Strong, Young Movers
Nobody complained about the company, so federal bureaucrats launched their own crusade.
