Is “administrative state” an ideological term? According to the Associated Press, maybe so! Here is an interesting paragraph from the story flagged today at SCOTUSBlog and a couple of days ago on Twitter (ugh) by Chris Walker: Reading that, I was taken aback. My sense is that folks of all stripes use the term. Indeed, […]
Here at Notice & Comment, I try to come up with a fun* theme each week. This week, however, I’m going to play a get-out-of-fun-theme-free card. The Court decided too many cases. Alas. Here is the rundown. Let’s start with the FERC cases. In Verso Corporation v. FERC, Judge Wilkins (joined by Judges Rogers and […]
A couple of weeks ago, I rebutted — well, at least I think so — the suggestion that Judge Kavanaugh is an artful dodger. This week, however, I’m going to backpedal a bit. It turns out that Kavanaugh may very well have to be an artful dodger once he gets to the Supreme Court. Let […]
While the world has focused on other things this week, a debate has engulfed a narrow, very nerdy slice of Twitter of which I am pleased to be part: Should citations in legal documents be “in-line” or in the footnotes? We don’t shy away from hard issues here at Notice & Comment. So I’ve decided […]
It isn’t a compliment to say that a judge “dodged” an issue. After all, to “dodge” is to “evad[e] by sudden bodily movement” — “an artful device to evade, deceive, or trick.” And throwing the word “artful” in front (to the extent it isn’t redundant, as “dodge” already includes “artful”) doesn’t turn it into a […]
For obvious reasons, a lot of folks are thinking hard about Judge Brett Kavanaugh. So today seems like a good one to share some preliminary thoughts, especially because the Senate Judiciary Committee will soon schedule hearings. I’ve been following the D.C. Circuit for a while now. And by any measure, Judge Kavanaugh is a major […]
When President Obama nominated Chief Judge Garland to the Supreme Court, I put together a list of his dissents and concurrences. As I explained then: President Trump has just nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. With the help of two hard-working research assistants* I’ve put together a similar list for him. Note that […]
The President will soon nominate a replacement for Justice Kennedy. Different folks have their favorites. That’s understandable — there are many talented folks in the mix.* What is less understandable are some of the attacks made on potential nominees by supporters of other nominees. To be sure, I have no objection to fair criticism; this […]
Dear 2Ls: It’s time for a chat. Soon enough, you will begin interviewing for jobs. And almost without fail, a question you will receive will go something like this: “So, what was your favorite 1L course?” Many of you will be tempted to respond “Constitutional Law.” Some of you might answer “Leg-Reg.” Perhaps a few […]
You may have noticed that Notice & Comment has hosted a series of posts highlighting the administrative law views of several judges on President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees. In light of this week’s big news (and no, we aren’t talking about the D.C. Circuit’s Revised Bills of Costs), it’s time for D.C. […]
If you care about administrative law judges (and who doesn’t?*), you ought to follow Kent Barnett on Twitter (ugh). He knows more about ALJs — and their cousins, administrative judges — than anyone I know. And if you care about the Appointments Clause (and, again, who doesn’t?**), you ought to follow Jenn Mascott on Twitter. […]
From time to time I indulge my theoretical side. At heart, however, I’m a pretty practical person. That’s why I love being a lawyer. Law requires theory. But it isn’t just theory; it is theory applied to very practical problems.* The D.C. Circuit, like the Supreme Court, is a theory-heavy court. But it also is […]
It’s summer again — at least in the D.C. Circuit. As explained last week, June, July, and August are busy months in the nation’s “second most important court.” We have seven opinions — and one important order.* This creates a dilemma for, well, me. I could discuss all of the cases in great detail. But […]
The Supreme Court is in crisis. It is already June yet almost half of the High Court’s cases remain undecided. For the Justices to finish their work by July 1, they will have to decide “29 of 63 argued cases” this month alone. What is happening? And why? Most importantly, can the Court — nay, […]
Reading How Appealing, I stumbled across this provocative headline: “Did the Supreme Court Just Gut the New Deal?” I later found a similar headline: “Neil Gorsuch Just Demolished Labor Rights in a Frontal Attack on the New Deal.” The subject of these headlines, of course, is the Supreme Court’s opinion in Epic Systems v. Lewis, […]