Today a federal judge threw out portions of the federal government’s plan to protect several fish species, including some salmon and steelhead in California, under the Endangered Species Act for the second time. The Fresno Bee reports: U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger invalidated parts of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service’s so-called biological opinion, calling […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
MoveOn Takes On Student Loans
For whatever reason, I’m on MoveOn.Org’s e-mail distribution list. Last week, I received an e-mail from MoveOn.Org that seemed a bit far afield from that organziations usual concerns: A petition calling for the federal government to forgive student loans as a way to stimulate the economy. The e-mail, titled “Sick of your student loans?” reads: […]
Rehearing Security-Investigation-as-Retaliation Case
Federal courts of appeals do not grant petitions for rehearing en banc very often. Three-judge panels grant petitions for rehearing and new arguments even less often. So it is interesting to see that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has granted a panel rehearing, complete with supplemental briefing and another oral argument, […]
Supreme Court Stays Texas Execution
Given all the attention paid to Rick Perry’s “record tally” of executions as Texas Governor, I am surprised the Supreme Court’s decision last week to stay the execution of Duane Edward Buck has not received more attention. From the Houston Chronicle: Buck was sentenced to die for the July 1995 shooting deaths of his former girlfriend, […]
EPA Postpones Another Air Rule
Two weeks ago, President Obama asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to shelve plans to tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, leaving any reconsideration of the current standard until 2013. This past week, the EPA announced it was delaying the planned release of proposed regulations to control greenhouse gas emissions from power plants […]
Eisenhower’s Other Warning
We’re all familiar with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s admonition about the “military-industrial complex.” But this was only one of the “threats” he identified in his farewell address. Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; […]
To Really Support the Whole Constitution
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 17, 2011 10:53 am in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law
Echoing Eugene’s comment below, I would feel better about the Constitutional Progressives’ “Whole Constitution Pledge” if I were confident that the drafters and signatories were truly pledging to support the whole Constitution, and not just those which can be used to advance a progressive political agenda through the courts. Not only does the whole Constitution […]
From Harvard Law Professor to U.S. Senator?
TPM reports that Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren will formally announce her campaign for the U.S. Senate tomorrow. This has been rumored for months, but now it will be official.
A Tale of Two Cases
The Yale Law Journal‘s new “Summary Judgment” online series features a set of essays on the Supreme Court’s decision in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, in which the Court held unanimously that suits against utilities alleging their emissions of greenhouse gases contribute to the “public nuisance” of global warming under federal common law were displaced […]
Bachmann Embraces Irresponsible Anti-Vaccine Views
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 13, 2011 12:35 pm in Junk Science and Quackspertise, Politicizing Science
Going on the offensive against Texas Governor Rick Perry for issuing an executive mandate that young girls receive a vaccine against HPV, Rep. Michele Bachman embraced the fringe (and thoroughly discredited) claim that vaccination can cause mental retardation. Details here and here. It is understandable that a parent whose child experiences difficulties will be distraught […]
Sixth Circuit Splits on Juror’s Ex Parte Communication
Today, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected death row inmate Bobby Shepherd’s appeal of the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Shepherd v. Bagley. Among Shepherd’s claims was that his trial was constitutionally defective because one of the jurors had […]
Could the Individual Mandate Really Be This Unpopular?
This morning the Associated Press and National Constitution Center released their latest survey on American attitudes toward governmental institutions and constitutional questions. Among other things, the poll shows that Americans appear to be increasingly comfortable with giving the President greater authority to address economic concerns. One of the results that caught my eye was a […]
Raise Revenue, Not Taxes
Bruce Bartlett makes the case for raising government revenue through “offsetting receipts” and user fees for government-provided services. Once upon a time, it was a principle of conservative budget analysis that the federal government ought to impose user fees wherever possible, because it was unfair for taxpayers to subsidize programs that benefited only a limited […]
Rick Perry and the Imperial Governorship
Today’s WSJ has an interesting article discussing how Texas Governor Rick Perry has exercised the prerogatives of his office and increased the power of his position during his eleven years in office. Here’s a taste: By constitutional design that dates to Reconstruction, Texas has a weak governorship. In addition to the legislature, power is diffused […]
Redskins Owner Drops Defamation Suit Against Washington CityPaper
And it today’s football-related legal news, the Washington Post reports that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has dropped his defamation suit against the Washington CityPaper over an unflattering story about him. Snyder had sought $1 million in general damages as well as unspecified punitive damages from the weekly paper; its parent company, Creative Loafing; and journalist […]