Judge Edward Korman is unhappy with the Administration’s handling of Plan B contraception. On Friday, the NYT reports, he denied the Administration’s request to stay his order requiring that Plan B be made available over-the-counter to all women and girls of any age.
Archive | Administrative Law
“Judge Rips Obama’s Right-Wing Plan B Stance”
Salon has an interesting report on Tuesday’s court hearing before federal district judge Edward Korman in which the Administration sought to defend its newly announced policy of limiting the over-the-counter availability of Plan-B contraception to females 15 and older instead of removing all restrictions as Korman had previously ordered. A taste: This morning, Korman repeatedly […]
D.C. Circuit Voids NLRB Posting Rule
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 […]
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 […]
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.
Evaluating the REINS Act
The NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy has published my article “Placing Reins on Regulations: Assessing the Proposed REINS Act” in its latest issue. The arguments I make in this piece should be familiar to readers of this blog. In the same issue, the NYUJLPP has also published “The REINS Act and the Struggle to Control Agency […]
Are the Days of Auer Deference Numbered?
As noted below, Justice Scalia was the lone dissenter in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center. The reason was not that Justice Scalia has decided to become the Justice Douglas of the 21st century. Rather, it was due to his relatively newfound opposition to Auer deference (aka Seminole Rock deference), under which courts are to defer […]
States Pile on Against Dodd-Frank
By Jonathan H. Adler on February 13, 2013 5:31 pm in Administrative Law, Financial Crisis, Separation of Powers
Eight more states have joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The states are Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia. As three states (Oklahoma, Michigan, and South Carolina) had already brought suit, this brings the total number of states involved in the suit […]
Chevron Revisited in City of Arlington v. FCC
Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in City of Arlington v. FCC. This dispute between local governments and the Federal Communications Commission over the latter’s authority over the application of local zoning rules to wireless facilities could well produce the most significant administrative law decision in a decade. At issue — and the […]
2012 Unified Agenda Released Before End of Year
Regulatory policy mavens have been wondering all year when the federal government would release the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. This report details the various actions planned by federal regulatory agencies. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House Office of Management and Budget is supposed to release the […]
Seventh Circuit Sidesteps Challenge to NLRB Recess Appointment
Today, in Richards v. NLRB, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit declined to consider whether President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were constitutional. As Judge Williams explained for the court, the petitioners lacked standing to challenge the NLRB’s actions, as the complained-of policy had already been overturned. Other […]
Filibuster Suit Dismissed
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 22, 2012 1:23 pm in Administrative Law, Congress, Separation of Powers, Standing
Yesterday, Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed Common Cause’s suit attempting to have the use of the filibuster declared unconstitutional. As I explained here, this was always a futile suit. Even if one thinks the substance of the suit has merit, standing and the political quesiton doctrine are major obstacles to getting such claims heard. Sure enough, […]
Assessing the REINS Act
Among the regulatory reform proposals passed by the House of Representatives this year was the “REINS Act,” a proposal to require Congressional approval before major regulations could take effect. Supporters and opponents of this bill have presented the REINS Act as a deregulatory tool. The actual effect of the REINS Act is likely to be […]
Where Is the Unified Agenda?
The federal government is supposed to publish the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions twice a year. This document provides a rundown of all the various regulatory (and deregulatory) actions that are in various stages of the regulatory pipeline. In this way, the agenda provides an overview of the federal government’s regulatory activities, and […]
Supreme Court to Consider Chevron Deference for Agency Jurisdiction
Among the Supreme Court’s seven cert grants today were the potentially important takings case Ilya notes below and another potentially important administrative law case: City of Arlington v. FCC. In City of Arlington (consolidated with another case), the Court limited the grant to the question whether Chevron deference should extend to agency interpretations of ambiguous […]