Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler

On Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson agreed to reconsider her predecessor’s conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions are not subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act’s “PSD” program which governs emissions from large power plants and industrial facilities. As the Washington Post and New York Times report, this is likely the first step […]

The NYT editorial board casually dismisses fears about implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, causing Overlawyered’s Walter Olson to not-so-casually dismiss the NYT‘s editorial judgment.

Last week, in Sisay v. Smith, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned a district court order enjoining the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport from enforcing new rules granting select taxicab companies the exclusive right to pickup passengers at the airport. Several small taxicab companies had challenged the rules […]

Here’s an interesting Politico story on the Obama Administration’s inconsistent release of information on various Presidential actions. In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor

Tomorrow I will teach Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. Chicago, in which the Supreme Court first held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to pay just compensation when private property is taken for public use. While sometimes identified as the first case in which the Supreme Court “incorporated” a provision of the Bill […]

Aric Press at the American Lawyer looks at current trends in the legal market, and they’re not pretty. If nothing changes, this fall the same law firms that recently laid off lawyers will start welcoming large groups of new lawyers, whom they will pay too well and for whom they will have too little work. […]

In a recent speech, Chief Justice Roberts suggested that having more former appellate judges on the Supreme Court makes the Court’s decisions less political. The NYT reports: Over the life of the Supreme Court, its members were quite likely to be former governors, legislators, cabinet members, law professors and practicing lawyers. That mix of backgrounds […]

Politico reports that the Justice Department has removed the prosecution team that successfully prosecuted Senator Stevens and was then subsequently found in contempt of court for misconduct. Of note, the Justice Department denies the claims upon which the contempt charges were based.

This Thursday I will be in Nashville to debate/discuss climate change policy with Michael Vandenbergh of Vanderbilt Law School at an event sponsored by the Nashville Lawyers Chapter and Environmental Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society and the Vanderbilt University Climate Change Research Network. Among other things, I will make the case for a […]

The Guardian reports on British plans to install “‘green’ speed bumps” that will generate electricity as cars drive over them — costlessly, of course. The ramps – which cost between

The NYT has an interesting article suggesting President Obama’s choice for “drug czar” (aka the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy) could alter federal drug policy in positive ways. The anticipated selection of Chief Kerlikowske has given hope to those who want national drug policy to shift from an emphasis on arrest […]

On Friday, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a lower-court ruling that had invalidated the Bush Administration’s policy authorizing Clean Water Act permits for mountaintop-removal coal mining. The AP reports here.

“Unforgettable” was Nat King Cole’s signature song. It’s been covered by many people, but his version is the one that will always be remembered. The song itself was written by Irving Gordon, who eventually won a Grammy when the song was re-recorded as a duet by Natalie Cole. Here is a taste of the lyrics: […]

The Washington Post reports that district cort judge Emmett Sullivanheld three DoJ lawyers in contempt for withholding information from Senator Stevens’ defense attorneys. Stevens and his lawyers complained during the trial about prosecutors withholding information. In December, they asked for his conviction to be tossed out. As part of their request, they asked for the […]

The final text of the House-Senate compromise stimulus bill was finally posted on-line last night at 11pm. For additional links and detail, visit ReadtheStimulus.org. UPDATE: One little addendum. On Wednesday, the House voted unanimously in support of an instruction that there be no vote on the final stimulus bill “unless the text of such agreement […]