The Progressive Case for Cost-Benefit Analysis (But Not As Conducted in the Trump Administration)
My review of Reviving Rationality:Saving Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Sake of the Environment and Our Health by Michael Livermore and Richard Revesz.
Law & Government
Congressional Staffers Demand Their Bosses Enact Climate Legislation
"We've crafted the legislation necessary to avert climate catastrophe. It's time for you to pass it," proclaim staffers in a letter to Congressional leaders.
How Georgia's Outlandish Ballot Access Law Is Protecting Marjorie Taylor Greene (and the Two-Party System)
A ballot access law meant to block Communists has become an obstacle to third-party politics.
Does West Virginia v. EPA Doom the SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule? (Updated)
The Supreme Court is skeptical of agency efforts to pour new wine out of old bottles.
"So No Damages for Past Injury, Due to Immunity—and no Injunction to Stop Future Injury, Due to Mootness"
An interesting concurrence by Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho.
Pete Buttigieg Is Moving to Michigan. He Should Take the Transportation Department With Him.
It would signal that the transportation future involves decentralization and rapid change rather than Washington-style command-and-control.
If Congress Bans Abortion, This New Deal Precedent Will Be at the Center of the Legal Battles
A 1942 decision about the Commerce Clause takes on new importance post-Roe.
States Must Allow Abortions When Woman's Health or Life Is Threatened, Says HHS
Plus: When "anti-wokeness" becomes an obsession, why immigrants are upwardly mobile, and more...
Trump and Steve Bannon Waive Executive Privilege they do not Have
The "waiver" opens the door for Bannon to testify before the congressional January 6 Committee. But former presidents are not entitled to executive privilege, and especially not when it comes to testimony by private citizens.
Will Chevron Get the Lemon Treatment?
The Supreme Court proclaimed this term that the Lemon test had been abandoned. Is this what is in story for Chevron?
New Japanese Law Makes 'Online Insults' a Jailable Offense
Dedication to free speech is in short supply around the world, with Britain and Canada previously considering similar bills.
Biden Issues Executive Order Designed To Protect Abortion Access
The abortion wars have entered a new phase.
The Food & Drug Administration Has a Vaping Problem
Something is wrong at the Food & Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products, and federal courts are beginning to notice.
Liz Wolfe: How San Francisco's Failures Could Help Austin and Miami
Associate Editor Liz Wolfe discusses the political and economic fortunes of both Austin and Miami, plus potential reasons these pastures might not always be greener.
Democrats Are Trying To Push Through Another 'Build Back Better' Bill. It Would Only Make Inflation Worse.
Here's hoping we don't wind up with more of the spending and favoritism that's become so common.
Team Libertarian Report from National Constitution Center "Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy" Project Now Available on SSRN
I coauthored the report with Clark Neily and Walter Olson, both of the Cato Institute.
The Clarence Thomas Court Is Good News for Gun Rights, Bad News for Criminal Justice Reform
Like it or not, the Thomas Court is here.
The Utah Supreme Court Holds that Crime Victims Can Intervene in Criminal Cases to Protect Their Rights
The Court agrees with my argument that crime victims can become "limited-purpose parties" in criminal proceedings to protect their interests, such as an interest in the confidentiality of mental health counseling records.
Biden Celebrates $90 Billion Bailout of Private Union Pension Plans
Plus: Don't cry for the failure of Homeland Security's disinformation board, states discover supply-side solutions to labor shortages, and more...
National Constitution Center Releases Reports on "Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy"
The project includes reports by conservative, libertarian, and progressive teams. I am coauthor of the Team Libertarian report.
The Founders Loved Jury Trials. Almost No One Gets One Anymore.
John Adams called jury trials part of the "heart and lungs of liberty." Today, defendants are often punished for exercising that very right.
Supreme Court Ruling in "Remain in Mexico" Case is a Win for Biden, Migrants - and Fans of Presidential Power
The ruling likely allows end of a cruel policy - but also reinforces broad presidential control over immigration.
Oregon Health Officials Delayed a Meeting Because 'Urgency Is a White Supremacy Value'
A second public health official cited the work of antiracist educator Tema Okun after several people on the thread objected.
Super Deference and Heightened Scrutiny
What should courts do when an agency action is based upon scientific evidence within the agency's expertise, but also implicates heightened scrutiny?
Justice Kagan Throws Down the Gauntlet: We Are Not "All Textualists Now"
In her forceful West Virginia v. EPA dissent, Justice Kagan challenges the majority's commitment to textualism.
Abolishing the Filibuster To Protect Abortion Rights Would Clear the Way for Republicans To Ban Abortion
Democrats aren't really this short-sighted, are they?
Here's What Abortion Laws in a Post-Roe World Might Look Like
A pro-life group's model legislation hints at how extreme enforcing abortion bans could get.
Supreme Court Gives Biden Administration a (Temporary?) Win on Immigration with Final Decision of Term
Chief Justice Roberts final opinion of the term rejects the statutory challenge to the Biden Administration's rescission of the "Remain in Mexico" policy.
Supreme Court Rejects Broad EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases from Power Plants (Updated)
Chief Justice Roberts writes for a six-justice majority in West Virginia v. EPA.
This Innocent Woman's House Was Destroyed by a SWAT Team. A Jury Says She's Owed $60,000.
Such victims are often told they have no right to sue.
Justice Breyer's Final(?) Majority Opinion Is A Win For Federal Power
Justice Breyer consistently resisted conservative efforts to constrain federal power, so his opinion in Torres is a fitting swan song.
Ketanji Brown Jackson To Become 104th Associate Justice Thursday At Noon
The Supreme Court announces when Judge Jackson will become Justice Jackson.
Did Cassidy Hutchinson's Testimony Clinch the Incitement Case Against Trump?
The former president's recklessness is beyond dispute, but that is not enough to convict him while respecting the First Amendment.
Abortion Rights Under the 9th and 14th Amendments
Understanding what Justice Alito got wrong in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Stephen Breyer Officially Retires Tomorrow, Opening a Seat for Ketanji Brown Jackson
“My retirement from active service,” Breyer told the president, “will be effective on Thursday, June 30, 2022, at noon.”
