Note: The D.C. Circuit had a busy week, but I’m away on family business and only have time to write a quick post.* As regular readers of D.C. Circuit Review — Reviewed know, the saga of Browning-Ferris has been an unusual one. About a year ago, I authored a post entitled “Bye-Bye, Browning-Ferris.” And then […]
Monthly Archives: December 2018
Why Federal Employees Will Not Be Working for Free During the Shutdown
Even though 25% of the federal government is shut down, many federal employees are considered essential (i.e., their service is necessary for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property) and must work during the shutdown. Soon, you might hear about these employees having to work for free during the shutdown. However, […]
D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: Christmas in the D.C. Circuit — One More Time
Two years ago, I wrote a lengthy post about Christmas in the D.C. Circuit. Last year, I updated it and posted it again. And this year, I will too. In fact, I think I’ll update it every year.* So here, you go — the story of Christmas in the D.C. Circuit. Be warned: Christmas is […]
To Save Obamacare, Repeal the Mandate
My colleague Richard Primus and I have an article at The Atlantic offering an idea to the incoming House of Representatives about how to deal with the decision out of Texas invalidating the Affordable Care Act. If congressional intent is the key to O’Connor’s decision, Congress can intervene. And the best way for it to do so is […]
New FedSoc Documentary: Chevron: Accidental Landmark
The Federalist Society has produced a cool new documentary on the origins of Chevron deference, with commentary from Tom Merrill (Columbia Law School), C. Boyden Gray (Boyden Gray & Associates), David Doniger (NRDC), Kristin Hickman (University of Minnesota Law School), and me. Here’s the final product: Here are the details on the project: Justice Stevens’s majority opinion in Chevron […]

Michael Cohen, Hush Money, and Trump’s Potential Criminal Liability
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (the SDNY) recently filed its sentencing memo in U.S. v. Michael Cohen. That memo has led to substantial speculation over whether the SDNY has evidence that President Trump criminally violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Many commentators believe that the SDNY does, particularly because […]
Jotwell Administrative Law Section Year-End Review
As I first noted on the blog four years ago, the Administrative Law Section of Jotwell—The Journal of Things We Like (Lots)—is a terrific resource for administrative law practitioners and scholars. Jotwell’s Administrative Law Section publishes monthly a short review of a current piece of administrative law scholarship, usually authored by one of our terrific contributing editors who are all […]
Two Texas Consultants Don’t Have Standing to Take Down Obamacare
I’ve got a piece at The Atlantic this morning arguing that Judge O’Connor was wrong—and obviously so—to hear the Texas lawsuit at all. The states don’t have standing to challenge a mandate that doesn’t apply to them. And the two Texas consultants they recruited as plaintiffs don’t have standing either. Here’s the key argument: Nantz […]
Administrative Law SSRN Reading List, November 2018 Edition
Here is the November 2018 Edition of the most-downloaded recent papers (those announced in the last 60 days) from SSRN’s U.S. Administrative Law eJournal, which is edited by Bill Funk. This month has been quite busy, so I don’t have time for my customary annotations of each article. (FWIW, I commented on many of these […]
A Texas court has declared the entire ACA unconstitutional
And I’ve got an op-ed in the Washington Post about why the decision is wrong. Here’s a taste: Who cares if a zero-dollar mandate is constitutional or not? Why does it matter in the slightest? And what on earth does it have to do with the rest of ACA? You might have thought that the […]