Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe has an op-ed in today’s NYT on the constitutional debate over the debt ceiling. He writes: Several law professors and senators, and even Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, have suggested that section 4 of the 14th Amendment, known as the public debt clause, might provide a silver bullet. This provision […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Does Mandatory Calorie Labeling Work?
The Washington Post reports that forcing restaurants to print calorie counts in menus may not have the desired effect of encouraging healthier eating. Evidence is mounting that calorie labels — promoted by some nutritionists and the restaurant industry to help stem the obesity crisis — do not steer most people to lower-calorie foods. Eating habits […]
The Administration’s DOMA Brief
Last Friday, the Justice Department filed its merits brief in Golinski v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, arguing against dismissal of the suit challenging the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. [A brief in defense of DOMA and urging dismissal was filed on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of […]
Has the FDA Declared War on Supplements?
Just before the holiday weekend, the Food & Drug Administration issued a new draft guidance on when dietary supplement makers must file “New Dietary Ingredient” notifications and what such notifications must require. This has the supplement industry up in arms, as they fear the guidance could effectively eliminate most dietary supplements that have come on […]
Balkin on Bad Questions, the Debt Ceiling, and the Ghost of Harry Truman
Jack Balkin has a thoughtful and extensive follow-up post on the implications of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment for the current debt ceiling debate. While I don’t agree with every jot and tittle, I concur with the broad sweep of the post, particularly his conclusion that the executive would have to exhaust any and […]
Dawn Johnsen on Koh v. Yoo
Former OLC nominee Dawn Johnsen objects to Eric Posner’s suggestion that Harold Koh and John Yoo are “peas in a pod” for their aggressive, politically motivated legal interpretations (albeit peas of differing ideological stripes). In her view, both Yoo and Koh are wrong, but in meaningfully different ways. Yoo’s infamous memos on torture and other […]
Climate Change, Cultural Perception, and Scientific Literacy
Yale’s Cultural Cognition Project, led by Dan Kahan, has a new working paper examining public perception of the risks posed by climate change: “The Tragedy of the Risk-Perception Commons: Culture Conflict, Rationality Conflict, and Climate Change.” The results are interesting, and perhaps a bit counter-intuitive — particularly the finding that those who are more scientifically […]
In Defense of the Debt Limit’s Constitutionality
The Honorable Michael McConnell responds to claims that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional and that Section 4 of the 14th Amendment authorizes the President to issue additional debt if necessary to meet existing debt obligations. Here’s a taste: Section Four of the Fourteenth Amendment does not create a back-door method for the Administration to borrow […]
Commemorating an End to Commemorative Resolutions
Thus far Republicans have kept their pledge to end the practice of passing commemorative legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Washington Post reports. So this has been a year without a Congressional remembrance of the fabled battle of Marathon or Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week. Unlike last year, the House is not marking Independence […]
Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? – Part Deux
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has picked up on suggestions that the debt limit violates Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, though stopped short of saying the Administration would refuse to abide by the ceiling to avoid default. Meanwhile, much bandwidth is being spilled over the various constitutional arguments. Jack Balkin points to the drafting history […]
District Court Upholds Polar Bear Listing
Yesterday, the federal district court in D.C. upheld the federal government’s decision to list polar bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act against challenges from all sides. Environmentalist organizations argued the government should have instead listed the polar bear as “endangered” (a more protected status), while Alaska and industry groups argued the polar bear […]
Ten D.C. Circuit Opinions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued ten opinions today. I cannot ever recall so many decisions issued in a single day by that court. It’s almost as if the judges are trying to get ready for their summer break.
Is Harold Koh the Left’s John Yoo?
The University of Chicago’s Eric Posner argues in The New Republic that State Department legal adviser Harold Koh and former Office of Legal Counsel attorney John Yoo are “two peas in a pod.” In his view, both are continuing a long-standing executive practice of using the executive’s authority to engage in legal interpretations that advance […]
Sixth Circuit Strikes Down Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
By Jonathan H. Adler on July 1, 2011 11:07 am in Affirmative Action, Racial Discrimination, Sixth Circuit
In a divided opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down Michigan’s Proposal 2, aka the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.” Proposal 2 was a successful ballot initiative that provides that the state, including state educational institutions, may not “discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the […]
Court to Consider Administrative Compliance Orders
The Supreme Court accepted cert on two more cases on Tuesday. One of these cases, Sackett v. EPA, could be quite significant for administrative law. The case arises out of an all-too-typical wetlands regulation dispute. The Sacketts own a lot in a residential subdivision upon which they planned to build a home. After they graded […]