Notice & Comment

D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: A “Two for One” Special

Fall is here; we know this because the D.C. Circuit did not issue any opinions this week. Because I expected no opinions (this happens every fall!) — and, of course, because of Labor Day — I figured this week would be a good one to evaluate how the NLRB has done so far this year. After all, when things are slow, why not engage in a bit of review? So I asked my library to do the research (they’re wonderful). But then came yesterday’s news: Greg Katsas has been nominated to the D.C. Circuit. Accordingly, this week will be a “two for one” special: let’s cover both topics.*

First, how did the NLRB do between Labor Day 2016 and Labor Day 2017? Here are the stats from the good folks in the BYU Law Library:

  • There were 43 NLRB cases (including published and unpublished).
  • The NLRB won one case that prompted a dissent: DIRECTV, Inc. v. NLRB (Judge Brown dissenting from Judge Srinivasan’s opinion).

Interesting. The number of separate opinions in particular caught my attention. I knew there were a lot but I didn’t remember that many.

Second, what about soon-to-be Judge Katsas? He’s obviously extremely accomplished. More than that, he is a seasoned veteran of the D.C. Circuit in particular — and he has prevailed in a lot of big cases. By my count, he’s argued ten cases in the D.C. Circuit. Here’s my methodology. I searched (adv: greg! /s katsas /s “argued the cause”) in Westlaw’s D.C. Circuit database. The following ten cases came up; I’ve also identified whether Katsas won or lost.

(1) Bismullah v. Gates, 551 F.3d 1068 (2009): Victory.

(2) Parhat v. Gates, 532 F.3d 834 (2008): Loss.

(3) DKI International, Inc. v. USAID, 477 F.3d 758 (2007): Victory (with an extended quote from “Government Counsel” included).

(4) Boumedienne v. Bush, 476 F.3d 981 (2007): Victory, at least before the D.C. Circuit — and Katsas did not argue the case before the Supreme Court.

(5) American Jewish Congress v. Corporation for National and Community Service, 399 F.3d 351 (2005): Victory.

(6) Acree v. Republic of Iraq, 370 F.3d 41 (2004): Victory.

(7) In re Cheney, 334 F.3d 1096 (2003): Loss, at least before the D.C. Circuit — though Katsas did not argue before the Supreme Court.

(8) Center for National Security Studies v. Department of Justice, 331 F.3d 918 (2003): Victory.

(9) UAW-Labor Employment and Training Corp. v. Chao, 325 F.3d 360 (2003): Victory.

(10) United States v. Wilson, 290 F.3d 347 (2002): Victory.

That’s a lot victories. And those are some very significant cases. It appears that another exceptional lawyer is about to join the Court.


* Of course, you could also skip both and spend your five minutes on something else ….

D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed is designed to help you keep track of the nation’s “second most important court” in just five minutes a week.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email