This morning, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in National Association of Manufacturers v. National Labor Relations Board, struck down a new NLRB regulation requiring employers to post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act on their properties and websites. Judge Randoph wrote the opinion for […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Business and the Roberts Court Revisited (Again)
Sunday’s NYT featured an extensive article by Adam Liptak arguing that the Roberts Court has been particularly friendly to business interests, particularly in comparison to its predecessors. This is not a new claim. In fact, Liptak has reported on the Roberts’ Court’s alleged pro-business leanings before, drawing on many of the same experts (including yours […]
Mine Safety Skirmishes
Today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer has an interesting investigative report on how mine operators fight mine safety penalties imposed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Here’s a taste: Critics say that in fighting back, mine owners are clogging up the appeals process and wearing down a system that lacks resources to match the challenge. Like […]
Epstein on The Lawyer Bubble
Richard Epstein reviews Steven Harper’s The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis in today’s WSJ. The review begins: Law schools are under siege. Applications have dropped to around 54,000 annually, from around 100,000 in 2004. First-year enrollment has slipped to under 40,000 students, from 50,000 in 2010. Jobs are scarce—especially for students coming from lower-tier […]
Ayers Defends Weather Underground Bombings
So Bill Ayers was here in Northeast Ohio over the weekend. He was the keynote speaker at the annual commemoration of the 1970 shootings at Kent State University. The Akron Beacon Journal reports: There is no relationship at all between what Weather Underground members did and the bombings that two brothers allegedly committed on April […]
The FDA’s Two-Track Response to Plan-B Ruling
Last month, a federal district court rejected the Department of Health and Human Services’ decision not to allow the sale of Plan-B contraception over-the-counter to females under 17. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded. On Wednesday, the FDA announced it would allow Plan-B to be sold over-the-counter to females 15 and older. […]
Another Suit Filed Against IRS Rule on Tax Credits in Federal Exchanges
Last week, several small business owners and individuals filed suit challenging the legality of an IRS rule purporting to authorize tax credits for the purchase of qualifying health insurance policies in federal exchanges. The complaint is here. The suit is being coordinated by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the plaintiffs are represented by Michael Carvin […]
Supreme Court of Rock and Roll
From James Wilson Pickett to the Elena Light Orchestra, compiled by Kevin McGuire.
2013 Law School Revue
Above the Law has posted this year’s finalists for the Law Revue video contest. A few of them are pretty good. Check ’em out.
Cert Petition Filed in Noel Canning
As expected, the Obama Administration is asking the Supreme Court to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit holding invalidating the President’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. The cert petition is here.
Bazinga!
Could a sitcom in which the main characters are obsessed with comic books actually be one of the most intelligent shows on television? At the very least it’s “the best TV science fiction comedy since the original Star Trek series in the 1960s,” according to Steve Hayward. Ken Masugi also reflects on the show’s serious […]
Sequester Games
A mandatory 4 percent cut to the budget of the Federal Aviation Administration (to what it was in 2010) results in furloughing 10 percent of air traffic controllers and delays are projected for 40 percent of flights. The Administration says it has no choice, and such consequences are unavoidable, and yet the office in the […]
Roe‘s Effect on Abortion Rates
The latest installment of the Washington Post‘s “Five Myths” series takes on abortion. Number three among the “Five Myths about Abortion” identified by author Rickie Solinger is “Roe led to a huge increase in the number of abortions.” Here is Solinger’s explanation for why this is a “myth”: According to the Guttmacher Institute, at least […]
How the Federal Government Charged Dzhokar Tsarnaev with Using a “Weapon of Mass Destruction”
The federal government has filed a formal criminal complaint against accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev. One of the charges is “Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction.” This may seem odd at first. Yes, federal prosecutors did charge a jealous housewife with violating the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act for trying to poison her […]
Federalism and Fracking Debate
Tomorrow evening I’ll be back in my home town to participate in a debate on the regulation of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas development sponsored by the Philadelphia Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. I will be debating question “Does the Federal Government Need to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing?” with Professor Amy Sinden of the Temple […]