Justice Scalia’s dissent in Sykes v. United States chastises his colleagues for continuing a futile effort to bring clarity to what constitutes a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act. It begins: As the Court’s opinion acknowledges, this case is another in a series.” More specifically, it is an attempt to clarify, for the […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
No More New York Twins
It had to happen sooner or later, and today was the day. This morning the Supreme Court decided Sykes v. United States, the first case in which Justices Kagan and Sotomayor disagreed on the judgment. Beyond the disagreement of the Court’s newest justices, it also featured an interesting line-up. In Sykes the Court held that […]
Losing a Diamond in the Rough
In April 2010, President Obama nominated MIT economist Peter Diamond to a seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In October, Diamond received the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on labor markets. Yet Diamond will not be taking a seat on the Fed. As he explains in this NYT op-ed, he is […]
The Supreme Court’s New York Twins
The New York Post reports on the apparent meeting of the minds between Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The Supreme Court’s two newest justices have yet to disagree in a single case decided this term. The two have also shown a remarkable degree of agreement in their reasoning, fully joining the same opinions in […]
Don’t Blame EPA for What the Clean Air Act Requires
By Jonathan H. Adler on June 4, 2011 5:37 pm in Climate Change, Congress, Environment, Regulation, Uncategorized
At a recent press conference touting House GOP plans to reduce regulatory burdens on business, members of Congress expressed dismay that the Environmental Protection Agency may tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone (aka urban smog) without considering the economic costs. Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo) remarked: I received this week a letter from […]
Homeowner Forecloses on Bank
It’s hard not to chuckle at this story: Bank of America tries to foreclose on a couple’s house, even though they don’t owe a cent. The couple fights BoA in court, and wins — but then BoA fails to pay the legal fees and court costs. So what does the wronged couple do? Precisely what […]
Doesn’t Anyone Know American History Anymore?
At a stop in Boston during her bus tour Sarah Palin made a somewhat incoherent reference to Paul Revere’s famous ride. He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those […]
Ninth Circuit to Hear DNA-Testing-for-Bail Requirement Case En Banc
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted rehearing en banc in United States v. Pool, a case challenging the constitutionality of requiring the arrested to submit to DNA testing before they are released on bail. A divided three-judge panel had upheld the condition. How Appealing has more here.
Indiana and HHS to Fight Over Planned Parenthood Funding
Indiana lawmakers recently enacted legislation barring Planned Parenthood from receiving money under the state’s Medicaid program. Earlier today, the Department of Health and Human Services informed Indiana that this restriction is illegal, and could jeopardize the state’s participation in Medicaid. Indiana does not appear ready to back down, however. The AP reports: In a letter […]
Administration Abandons Tax Injunction Act Defense of Individual Mandate
In a brief filed today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Department of Justice explained it was no longer urging federal courts to dismiss challenges to health care reform’s individual mandate on the grounds that such suits are precluded by the Anti-Injunction Act. SCOTUSBlog’s Lyle Denniston explains: The Anti-Injunction Act, […]
The Problems with Precaution
The American has posted an essay of mine on the precautionary principle, “The Problems with Precaution: A Principle without Principle.” The underlying paper was prepared for a conference on pesticide regulation at the American Enterprise Institute and was included in an AEI book, Crop Chemophobia: Will Precaution Kill the Green Revolution?. The essay begins: It’s […]
Justice Alito’s Failure to Recuse
Several news organizations (e.g. AP, Bloomberg, and the WSJ Law Blog) are reporting on the revelation that justice Samuel Alito inadvertently failed to recuse himself from FCC v. Fox Television, despite holding 2,000 shares of Disney stock on behalf of his children. Disney had an interest due to its ownership of ABC, which was a […]
NY Files Fracking Lawsuit
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed suit against several federal agencies yesterday for failing to prepare an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before adoptingDelaware River Basin Commission regulations governing hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin.Commission (“DRBC”) regulations that would authorize natural gas development within the Delaware River Basin. […]
Don Boudreaux Offers a Bet
Noted environmentalist Bill McKibben believes there is a link between recent natural disasters, including the rash of deadly tornadoes, and global warming. GMU economist Donald Boudreaux is skeptical. In an op-ed in today’s WSJ he notes that 2011 has yet to see more F5 tornadoes (those with windspeeds between 261-318 mph) than 1953 or 1974. […]
CVSG on Whether Incompetency Should Stay Habeas Proceedings
This morning the Supreme Court called for the views of the Solicitor General in Ryan v. Gonzales, a habeas case arising out of the Ninth Circuit posing the question whether a habeas petitioner is entitled to a stay of the proceedings if the petitioner is not competent to assist counsel. This question is similar to […]