Articles

We recently filed an amicus brief in JHP LLC v. Japp, a case pending before the California First District Court of Appeal.  At issue is the scope of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection‘s (CalFire) authority to regulate “timberland” under the Z’Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act.  Under that Act, CalFire ...

Here at Pacific Legal Foundation, we have been following the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case for years.  The oral argument is now a little over a week away.  I will be traveling to the Supreme Court that day and watching this historic argument live.  Be sure to tune in to Armstrong & … ...

In a long overdue and welcome development, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has finally proposed to delist the beetle from the Endangered Species Act.  This finding is a direct result of the lawsuit that PLF filed on behalf of landowners, farm bureaus, and flood districts in the Sacramento Valley who have been burdened for … ...

Government overreaching has become epidemic in Washington, D.C.  Consider the designation of “critical habitat” for the Dusky Gopher Frog in Louisiana. The Endangered Species Act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate “critical habitat” for protected species.  The Act expressly limits “critical habi ...

Not too long ago, I posted on a recent study in the journal Science demonstrating that many species are listed on the Endangered Species Act not because of government-initiated action but rather because of a citizen petition.  I noted that, in my view, the study supported the existence of pretextual listings, i.e., those listings that … ...

Next, week, on October 10, 2012, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Fisher v. University of Texas.  As the parties discuss whether the University of Texas can justify its race-conscious admissions policy, one topic sure to arise is academic mismatch. Academic mismatch begins when elite universities lower their academic standards to admit ...

As part of our continuining Fisher v. University of Texas oral argument coverage, I want to talk about a point pressed by the University in defense of its racial preference: proportional representation.   It has been well-reported that Texas had, through the Top Ten Percent Law, dramatically increased the raw number of under-represented minoriti ...

While we wait for the Supreme Court of Washington to decide whether it will review Birnbaum v. Pierce County, I thought it might be nice to give some attention to two amicus briefs that were filed in support of our petition for review.  As a refresher, here’s the issue in the case as I described … ...

Paul Hseih explains how licensing doctors isn’t just unnecessary, but dangerous. … ...