Last November the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC to consider whether certain agency adjudications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are unconstitutional because they strip parties of their private property rights in a non-Article III forum and without a jury. At oral argument, the justices raised […]
Monthly Archives: February 2018
SG’s Brief in Lucia Could Portend the End of the ALJ Program as We Have Known It, by Jeffrey S. Lubbers
Anyone interested in preserving the independence of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) should be alarmed at Solicitor General Neal Francisco’s brief (nominally) on behalf of the SEC in the case pending at the Supreme Court, Raymond J. Lucia Petitioners v. The Securities and Exchange Commission. I say “nominally” because the front page of the brief itself […]
D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: A (Mostly) Quiet Week
This was a quiet week in the D.C. Circuit — that is, unless you study Internet Law.* The D.C. Circuit again confronted the turbulent waters of “net neutrality.” Indeed, it did so in two ways, one high profile and one low profile. High profile, more than 20 States refiled their petition for review of the […]
As Idaho goes, so goes the nation.
I’ve got a new piece at Vox digging into Idaho’s decision to flout the Affordable Care Act. If you want to learn something about Idaho administrative law (I know, I know, pure clickbait) this is the place to look. I also examine the analogy between what Idaho’s doing and marijuana legalization. The upshot is that […]
D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: On Mock Trials
Apologies again; this post is also a quick one. I don’t often agree with Richard Posner.* But I’m sympathetic to his criticism of “mock trials” involving real judges. This is how they work. A pair of (often famous) lawyers reimagine historical — or historical-ish — cases before a panel of honest-to-goodness judges while an audience […]
ABA Teleconference: Who Are You to Judge? The Supreme Court Revisits the Constitutionality of Agency Adjudication
The ABA’s Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice will host an interesting — and free! — teleconference on agency adjudication. Here is the information: Who Are You to Judge? The Supreme Court Revisits the Constitutionality of Agency Adjudication February 26, 2018 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST | Teleconference Decades after last considering […]
Regulatory Scorecard: A Conversation with Administrator Neomi Rao
From the Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project website: In 2017, the U.S. experienced a dramatic shift in regulatory policy at the federal level. This shift is attributable to a new presidential administration that has made regulatory reform a priority. This priority is evidenced by numerous regulatory initiatives including Executive Order 13771 that directs agencies, among […]
Fair Notice and the CFPB: The Other Constitutional Ruling in PHH v. CFPB, by Joseph Palmore & Bryan Leitch
This month’s en banc D.C. Circuit decision in PHH Corp. v. CFPB has understandably received widespread attention for upholding the constitutionality of the CFPB’s structure in the face of a separation-of-powers challenge. But somewhat hidden within the hundreds of pages of separate opinions in PHH was another constitutional ruling—one on which the CFPB lost and […]
OIRA is Hiring!
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is hiring a Policy Analyst! This is a great opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. From the job advertisement: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is seeking candidates for a policy analyst position in OIRA’s Information Policy […]
Administrative Law SSRN Reading List, January 2018 Edition
This month’s SSRN reading list likely constitutes the calm before the storm of new administrative law scholarship, as the spring law review season opens up and scholars begin posting new articles to SSRN. But January was still a solid month for new scholarship. Here is the January 2018 edition of the most-downloaded recent papers (those […]