Apologies; this is a quick post. I’m traveling.

Neomi Rao has now been confirmed. That event prompted a thought: How is Judge Katsas doing? Katsas, of course, was confirmed at the tail end of 2017. His experience may give Judge Rao a hint about what is in store.

With that question in mind, my research assistant pulled Judge Katsas’s majority opinions:

6/29/2018
Saint Francis Medical Center v. Azar

7/10/18
Delaware Riverkeeper Network v. FERC

7/17/2018
Big Bend Conservation Alliance v. FERC

7/17/2018
American Hospital Association v. Azar

8/3/2018
Old Dominion Energy v. FERC

9/21/2018
ANR Storage Co. v. FERC

Her reaction? “You can tell he’s junior by the number of FERC opinions he was assigned. Poor fellow.”* I’m not sure that’s fair; FERC opinions can be fun. But her point is well taken — now is a good time for Judge Rao to start climbing the learning curve.

***
The Court also decided a bunch of cases this week.

In Lewis v. Mutond, the panel concluded that certain foreign defendants were not entitled to immunity. Judge Wilkins and Judge Randolph disagreed about why while Judge Srinivasan concluded that either theory would do. In particular, Wilkins relied on the Restatement (Second) of Foreign Relations Law. By contrast, Randolph reasoned that common-law immunity is displaced by the Torture Victim Protection Act and that “[i]t may well be that there is not now and never was any common law of immunity for foreign officials sued in the United States.”

In University of Southern California v. NLRB, Judge Tatel, joined by Judges Pillard and Sentelle, granted the university’s petition in part because the Board’s extension of the “majority status rule” conflicted with agency precedent. In Shi v. New Mighty U.S. Trust, Judge Rogers (joined by Judges Griffith and Pillard) dove into the finer points of the forum non conveniens doctrine.

Judge Williams had a busy week. In Lovitky v. Trump, he concluded (joined by Judges Tatel and Griffith) that the Mandamus Act does not extend to an officer’s “pre-election (or preappointment) acts.” And in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Department of Agriculture, Judge Williams (this time joined by Chief Judge Garland and Judge Katsas) affirmed a FOIA denial. This is my favorite part of the opinion:

Finally, in Missouri River Energy Services v. FERC, Judge Katsas (just kidding — it was really Judge Srinivasan) upheld FERC’s decision. Here is a sample of his analysis:

Judge Rao — this is what you have to look forward to! Congratulations.

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* Of course, he also wrote separately from time to time.

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