The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Michael McConnell and Neal Katyal Join Our Tariff Litigation Team
They are prominent legal scholars and Supreme Court litigators from opposite sides of the political spectrum.
I am pleased to announce that leading legal scholars and Supreme Court litigators Neal Katyal and Michael McConnell have joined the litigation team for VOS Selections, Inc. v. Trump - the case challenging Trump's abusive "Liberation Day" tariffs filed by the Liberty Justice Center and myself. The support of prominent figures from opposite sides of the political spectrum is a testament to the strength and importance of this case.
Neal Katyal the Paul Saunders Professor at Georgetown University and the former Acting Solicitor General of the United States under the Obama Administration. He is a leading left-of-center constitutional law scholar, and has argued over fifty cases before the US Supreme Court.
Michael McConnell is the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and one of the nation's leading conservative originalist constitutional law scholars. He is a former federal court of appeals judge, and has argued sixteen cases before the Supreme Court.
It is an honor to have Michael and Neal with us for the next phase of this case!
The Liberty Justice Center has issued a statement on this occasion, which I reprint below:
On June 25, the Liberty Justice Center announced that leading appellate lawyers and constitutional scholars Michael McConnell and Neal Katyal and their law firms have joined LJC's legal challenge to the Trump Administration's "Liberation Day" tariffs, signing on as co-counsel in the lawsuit.
The Liberty Justice Center and co-counsel Ilya Somin filed a lawsuit challenging the tariffs on April 14, arguing that the tariffs represent a dangerous and unlawful violation of the separation of powers. In a major victory for the separation of powers, the U.S. Court of International Trade issued a unanimous ruling on May 28, finding the tariffs illegal and issuing a permanent injunction banning their enforcement.
After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a motion by the Trump Administration to temporarily stay the injunction pending the appeal, the Liberty Justice Center announced that Judge Michael McConnell, Senior of Counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Neal Katyal, Head of Supreme Court and Appellate Practices at Milbank LLP and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, have formally joined V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump.
"More than any other case challenging executive action, the tariff cases combine fundamental principles of structural constitutional law with immense consequences for the economy," said Michael McConnell. "It is an honor for me and my colleagues at Wilson Sonsini to join in this effort."
"I'm thrilled to join the Liberty Justice Center and Michael McConnell in this vital litigation," said co-counsel Neal Katyal. "The President claims that a 1977 law, IEEPA, justifies his sweeping, unilateral tariffs. I used to administer IEEPA for the government, and no one ever thought it authorized what he is doing here. I've been privileged to serve as counsel in many of the biggest executive power challenges over the last two decades, both for and against the government. These presidential actions fall on the wrong side of the line. I look forward to vindicating our Founders' view of the separation of powers, and to restoring the primacy of Congress over such major questions."
The Liberty Justice Center is pleased to welcome Judge McConnell and Neal Katyal to the team and looks forward to continuing the legal battle against the unconstitutional "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Amicus briefs are due no later than July 8. The U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold a hearing in the case on July 31, which will be available via livestream.
Immediately following the hearing, the Liberty Justice Center will host a media roundtable to discuss the next steps in the case and answer questions by members of the press. To RSVP for this roundtable, visit the Liberty Justice Center's media reservations page here.
