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, […]

I noticed a small courtesy in this week’s cases. The world can be a pretty harsh place. So when we have an opportunity to offer an earned compliment, we should take it. Courtesy and kindness, after all, are never wasted. In Drielak v. Pruitt, Judge Randolph (joined by Judges Henderson and Katsas*) affirmed the district […]

For two days this week, there was a mystery in the D.C. Circuit: Why did the Court rule against “James Mattis, in his official capacity as Secretary of Defense” in Doe v. Mattis? As you probably already know, the case is about the government’s authority to transfer a U.S. citizen — also a citizen of […]

Perusing the internet, I see that a study suggests cable news may make one less informed about the world. What a depressing thought. My instinct is to question such a claim, at least if the point is taken too far. Although, no doubt, there are often much better ways to gain information and televised news […]

Ever since I was a 2L, I’ve had a soft spot for Judge David Sentelle. It is not because he is a “very bright and capable” jurist — though he surely is that. And it is not because he is a published author — though his book is quite good. It is not even because […]

Warning: Unless you enjoy reading docket entries, this is not an especially exciting post. A few months ago I authored a post called “Bye-Bye, Browning-Ferris.” There, I addressed the NLRB’s decision to overrule Browning-Ferris, a precedent which had “made it easier for unions to go after franchisees and contractors. Before Browning-Ferris, companies were ‘joint employers’ […]

Apologies. This post is another quick one — sono occupato. A few months back my duteous research assistants* put together a list of D.C. Circuit law clerks who became law professors. Since then, they have kept at it. Although it also is no doubt incomplete, here is an updated list: It’s a noteworthy list, especially […]