In light of today’s oral argument in Wal-Mart v. Dukes — and efforts by political activists to paint the case in reductionist, ideological terms — today’s Washington Post has an editorial that echoes a theme that have been repeated on the VC quite often. It’s easy in cases such as this one to try to […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Justice Kennedy, the Individual Mandate, and the Broccoli Question
In The New Republic Purdue University political science professor Frank J. Colucci, author of Justice Kennedy’s Jurisprudence: The Full and Necessary Meaning of Liberty, ponders whether Justice Kennedy will vote to uphold the individual mandate. Colucci writes: The question of the individual mandate’s constitutionality is closely tied to two competing values that Kennedy believes in deeply: a […]
WI Collective Bargaining Bill “Published” Despite TRO
The Journal-Sentinel reports that the controversial bill limiting public employee collective bargaining rights has been published by the Legislative Reference Bureau. State law requires that the Bureau publish newly enacted bills within ten days of passage. What about the county court’s TRO? Apparently the Bureau was not subject to the order, which was directed against […]
The Wisconsin GOP’s Fishing Expedition
Earlier this week, noted University of Wisconsin historian William Cronon published an op-ed in the NYT that, among other things, drew parallels between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Senator Joe McCarthy. (Yes, that McCarthy.) It was a bit much, particularly given its attempt to attribute all indecent or improper behavior in the Wisconsin imbroglio to one […]
Dylan and the Law
The NLJ reports on an upcoming conference on “Bob Dylan and the Law.” As the story reports, a 2006 study found that legal writers cite Bob Dylan more than any other songwriter.
“A Tree Once Grew in Upper Arlington”
So begins the opinion for the court by Judge Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Brown v. City of Upper Arlington, in which the court considered whether it was proper to hold a city in contempt for cutting down a tree. Here is Judge Sutton’s introduction and summary of […]
WI Appeals Court Punts to Supremes
The intermediate appeals court in Wisconsin has concluded that the state Supreme Court should directly review the legal challenge to the validity of the state law restricting collective bargaining rights for public employees.
Evolving Legal Strategies in Wisconsin
The Journal-Sentinel reports on the evolution of the legal arguments against the Wisconsin legislation that would curtail public employee collective bargaining rights. Wednesday, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne filed an amended complaint in circuit court in which he said GOP lawmakers had violated the constitution when a legislative conference committee voted on the budget-repair […]
Wisconsin AG Seeks to Appeal Order Blocking Anti-Collective Bargaining Bill
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen appealed the decision by a county judge enjoining publication of legislation that would curtail collective bargaining rights for public employees. The AG’s petition, filed with a state appellate court, seeks leave to appeal and a stay of the county judge’s temporary restraining order. The Journal-Sentinel reports: In its appeal […]
Good Luck Orin!
This morning, our own Orin Kerr will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the petitioner in Davis v. United States. SCOTUSBlog previewed the case here. For more, see this post with links to the briefs, and this NLJ piece on Orin and the case.
EPA’s New Mercury Controls
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new regulations governing emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants. This rule has been a long time coming. In the waning moments of the Clinton Administration, the EPA made a finding that would trigger mercury emission controls on power plants under the Clean Air […]
Hamburger on Waivers – Part III
Columbia Law’s Philip Hamburger has a third essay on the constitutional problems with the issuance of waivers under the health care reform law. (Here are my posts on I and II.) The Department of Health and Human Services has given out over 1,000 waivers of various requirements thus far, and more are surely on the […]
Root on Business and the Roberts Court
Reason‘s Damon Root makes a point that’s been made many times on this blog: Characterizing the Roberts Court as “pro-business” is not very illuminating, nor does it fairly characterize the course of the Court’s jurisprudence. The same Court that limited federal wetland regulation in Rapanos v. United States triggered a vast regulatory expansion in Massachusetts v. […]
Mansfield on Posner and Vermeule
Harvard’s Henry Mansfield reviews The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic by Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule. Here’s a taste: To judge this book, let us return to the Madisonian Constitution, which has one central feature not discussed or even mentioned by Posner and Vermeule. For Madison, the main danger addressed by the Constitution […]
WI Collective Bargaining Law on Hold
A Wisconsin judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring publication of the Wisconsin law restricting collective bargaining rights for public employees. Here’s a news report. The basis for the judge’s decision is the legislature’s alleged violation of the state’s open meetings law. A representative from the state Attorney General’s office says his office disagrees […]