Pacific Legal Foundation’s Center for the Separation of Powers, The Center for Growth and Opportunity, and George Mason University’s Law & Economics Center seek papers for a research roundtable on due process deficits in regulatory agencies’ enforcement and adjudication practices, to be held on October 28, 2022, at the Scalia Law School.

A constellation of distinct but interrelated due process deficits has arisen as the regulatory state has grown larger and gradually supplanted courts’ traditional role in resolving disputes. Among the most important of these deficits are lack of notice to affected persons, delay or denial of access to court, lack of impartial adjudicators, agency failure to respond promptly to allegations of wrongdoing, disproportionate and unfair penalties, and lack of democratic accountability. Many regulatory agencies employ practices that skirt the most basic due process protections. These deficits not only have adverse legal effects and raise serious Rule of Law concerns, they also often bring significant economic concerns from lack of predictability, inefficiencies associated with underinformed regulators, and inadequately reasoned or arbitrarily identified compliance costs.

Research Roundtable

Completed paper drafts are due by October 1, 2022, but need not be in polished or publishable form. Authors will present their papers at a research roundtable co-hosted by PLF, CGO, and LEC. Each paper author will be expected to formally comment on others’ papers, and a set of separate expert commentators will also be present at the research roundtable to provide critical feedback on the drafts.

The roundtable is tentatively scheduled for October 28, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia, at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and will provide authors the opportunity to get feedback from other legal and academic experts. We will cover the cost of hotel accommodation and reasonable travel expenses to the roundtable.

Contact Information

For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact Alison Somin at asomin@pacificlegal.org.

Further details about the event may be found here.