The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
A Refreshingly Boring First 100 Days
From a legal perspective, the last three months have been pleasantly predictable.
Recently, President Biden completed his first 100 days in office. And everyone let out a collective yawn. The legal landscape has been remarkably tame over the past three months. There have been only a handful of adverse rulings against the administration. A federal district court judge in Texas enjoined the moratorium on deportations. The government didn't even bother seeking an emergency stay with the Fifth Circuit. There have been some injunctions and declarations issued in case concerning the eviction moratorium. But Trump enacted that policy! As best as I can recall, the Solicitor General has not filed a single emergency application with the Supreme Court. So far, things have been, well, refreshingly boring.
The past four years felt like a marathon run at a sprint pace. We lived through a never-ending series of insane tweets, hasty executive actions, nationwide injunctions, stay applications, and divided Supreme Court rulings. (I was on the losing end of one of those nationwide injunctions, and my client wasn't even a real party!) I can't even fathom how many hours of legal services were spent on litigating for and against these policies.
Now, things are pleasantly predictable. Our biggest debates concern the definition of "infrastructure" rather than arguing about animus and emoluments.
Things may still heat up. But so far, I am enjoying this pause. It has allowed me to return to some projects that were on the backburner for far too long.
