Articles

President's Weekly Update — September 28, 2012

September 28, 2012 | By ROB RIVETT

It’s been another busy week.  Let’s jump right to the cases. Economic Liberty Project — Freedom of Contract We filed our amicus brief in Sanchez v. Valencia Holdings in the California Supreme Court. In this case, Mr. Gil Sanchez claims to have not read an arbitration clause in his sales contract when he purchased a … ...

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The Euclidean Theory of constitutional interpretation

September 28, 2012 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Some important insights are so clear and free of qualification that after their discovery they seem too obvious to have been disputed.  Think of “the earth is round” or “objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless a force acts upon them.”  One such insight commonly learned in law school is that a written … ...

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Connect the dots, la-la-la-la

September 27, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

This article in The Examiner reminded me of Pee Wee’s “Connect the Dots” jingle from my youth.  The article is a puff piece for the American Education Research Association’s amicus brief in support of racial preferences in Fisher v. University of Texas.  Here’s a snippet: The Hispanic and African-American minority po ...

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Decision stands in sage grouse case

September 26, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Last February, Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sustained the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s finding that listing the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act was warranted, but precluded by more pressing projects.  Today, the judge denied a motion by Western Watersheds Project and other environmental groups that sought to ame ...

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Florida town council targets property owners for regulatory taking (or bankruptcy)

September 26, 2012 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

Simone and Lyder Johnson intimately know why individuals need steadfast protection against government power. Their case, which they won at the trial level, will soon be heard by the Florida Court of Appeal.  In Pacetta, LLC v. Town of Ponce Inlet, the trial court determined that the town made numerous promises to entice the Johnsons … ...

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More analysis on Kivalina

September 26, 2012 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the Native Village of Kivalina’s tort damages claim against a large collection of the country’s major energy producers.  (PLF submitted an amicus brief in support of the defendants).  Kivalina had argued that the defendants’ greenhouse gas emissions had cont ...

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Will freedom of contract survive in the California Supreme Court?

September 25, 2012 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

Gil Sanchez bought a used Mercedes for $54,000.  He signed a standard sales contract used by dealerships throughout California, that he did not read.  If he had read it, he might have noticed the arbitration provision on the back of the contract, outlined by a black box.  He might also have noticed the class action … ...

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PLF's brief in Fisher called "most persuasive overall"

September 25, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

The Weekly Standard ran an article this week on the twenty or so briefs that were filed on behalf of Abigail Fisher in her challenge to the University of Texas’s race-based admissions policy.  The article finds PLF’s brief, which was joined by the Center for Equal Opportunity, American Civil Rights Institute, National Association of Sc ...

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"The Clean Water Act : A Problem With A Solution"

September 24, 2012 | By REED HOPPER

The American Conservation Ethic was put forward in 1996.  This was a statement of principles based on individual liberty, private property rights, and free markets that could serve to guide the development of national environmental policy.  To advance these principles, the Heritage Foundation has recently published Environmental Conservation: Eig ...