When I served on the D. C. Circuit, the hoped-for deadline to issue opinions was three months after oral argument. That is a deadline I’m not certain that I ever met! Frequently late summer releases involve opinions that, for one reason or another, have proven vexing to write. Their releases are met with sighs of […]
The summer gush of opinions that my fellow bloggers have been reviewing appears to have slowed down to a trickle as we head into the last week of August. Only one opinion this week, and it’s antitrust … though I suppose we can call it admin-law-adjacent because the (unsuccessful) antitrust claim was brought by the […]
The D.C. Circuit issued nine (!) opinions last week, including cases involving selective prosecution under § 1983, the sentencing of a January 6 defendant, and . . . another FERC case. Frederick Douglass Foundation, Inc. v. DC (Wilkins [concurring in judgment], Rao, Childs): Appellant alleges that the District of Columbia violated the First and Fifth Amendment […]
Benjamin Franklin famously observed that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Equally inevitable in federal litigation: jurisdictional tussles. Last week’s decisions feature a range of jurisdictional disputes: primary jurisdiction, statutory jurisdiction, standing, and sovereign immunity. We also encounter a perennial tax question. In Fairless Energy v. FERC, […]
The D.C. Circuit was busy again this week, issuing eight unanimous opinions. The court is presumably eager to wrap up its opinions from last Term before the next one begins in September. Nothing groundbreaking, but a few interesting issues: Cox v. Kijakazi (Srinivasan, Millett, Childs): This case concerns appellant’s application for Supplemental Security Income based […]
Last week was busy at the D.C. Circuit, with opinions on (i) FERC (of course!), (ii) FIFRA, (iii) election law and the FEC, (iv) the EPA, (v) federal land management, (vi) foreign relations and espousal of claims, and (vii) civil procedure and criminal procedure. FERC In Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station v. FERC, […]
The D.C. Circuit issued two admin law decisions this past week, both partial defeats for FERC. The most significant case is Advanced Energy United, Inc. v. FERC, No. 22-1018. It involves the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM), proposed by some of the southeast’s largest utilities and approved by FERC in part by inaction. In non-technical […]
During the week of June 19, the D.C. Circuit issued three opinions. In Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit vacated part of an EPA rule that regulated hydrofluorocarbons—highly potent greenhouse gases used in fridges, freezers, and air conditioners. In 2020, Congress enacted the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which […]
After taking time off for its first judicial conference since COVID and to celebrate Independence Day, the D. C. Circuit issued a flurry of opinions last Friday that are hastily summarized here. In American Gas Public Gas Association v. Department of Energy (APGA II), No. 22-1107, the Court held for a second time that the […]
The administrative law headline for the past week is that the Supreme Court has again invoked the Major Questions Doctrine to hold agency action unlawful—this time, President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. In a separate opinion, Justice Barrett offers a thoughtful explication of that doctrine. In her view, it merely “emphasize[s] the importance of context […]
Here is a belated summary of the D.C. Circuit’s administrative law opinions for the week of June 5. Several pressing questions will be answered, including, just what is a Glomar response? In Schaerr v. DOJ, the D.C. Circuit considered whether several agencies had properly issued a Glomar response to a FOIA request. When an agency […]
Many of the judges on the D.C. Circuit were busy last week with law clerk hiring. The “hiring plan” allowed rising 3Ls to submit their applications at noon last Monday and allowed judges to contact them at noon on Tuesday. For those interested, our own Aaron Nielson has evaluated the costs and benefits of the […]
The D.C. Circuit issued two decisions this past week, both in criminal cases (one about challenging Armed Career Criminal Act sentences on collateral review and one reversing a conviction for a Brady violation). With arguments over for the term, and in lieu of any admin law decisions to discuss (though I expect the usual summer […]
The D. C. Circuit issued four opinions this week. One involved an employment contract. Two were whistleblower appeals from the Tax Court. The fourth was from FERC. In Wright v. Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, No. 22-7004, a divided panel of the D.C. Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of claims arising out of […]
We have three administrative law opinions from the D.C. Circuit last week. The first two concern gas pipelines. In Center for Biological Diversity v. FERC, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club petitioned the Court to review FERC’s decision approving a project to construct liquified natural gas facilities in Alaska’s North Slope. […]