As I noted here, some progressives argue that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is engaged in a “judicial jihad against the regulatory state,” environmental regulations in particular. It seems someone forgot to tell the judges on the D.C. Circuit, for as Greenwire reports, the Environmental Protection Agency fares rather well in a court that is allegedly stacked with anti-regulatory zealots, and a large share of the EPA’s losses come from environmentalist groups or other interests seeking more stringent regulation, not regulatory relief. From the story:
Obama and Senate Democrats say the nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit are needed to fill out its 11-member bench and restore balance to a court that has been dominated by Republican appointees.
But a close look at rulings over the last year in the environmental, energy and conservation realm shows that the administration — and in particular, U.S. EPA — has fared well at the D.C. Circuit. . . .
The D.C. Circuit has ruled on more than 20 significant challenges to EPA regulations since June 2012. Of those, EPA won at least a dozen, or 60 percent, a better performance than EPA had at the circuit during George W. Bush’s administration, when it frequently lost to environmentalists. On top of the dozen, the agency scored partial wins in other cases by prevailing on some issues while losing on others.
While the Obama EPA has fared rather well in the D.C. Circuit, the Bush EPA did not — even in front of the same judges.