“Humphrey’s Executor (Whoever He Is)”:

Ann Althouse discusses Dana Milbank’s article on the Alito hearings, which culminated in Milbank’s observation:

The nominee relied heavily on the language of law books, mentioning “Humphrey’s Executor” (whoever he is) 10 times, “undue burden” 10 times, and “jurisdiction” 25 times.

Humphrey’s Executor fundamentally dealt with the constitutionality of the FTC as independent agency. During my time at the FTC, I sported the following scrolled text as a screen saver on my computer:

The sound application of a principle that makes one master in his own house precludes him from imposing his control in the house of another who is master there.

There is a picture of Commissioner Humphrey on the first floor of the FTC building, which contains a hall of all the FTC’s Commissioners through the years. Needless to say, we FTC alumni are well aware of both Mr. Humphrey–and his Executor.