Articles

Most everyone who sees suffering wishes they could do something about it, but often times this sympathetic impulse leads people to jump to quick fix policies without thinking about the consequences. Take for example, the minimum wage. … ...

The obvious answer is none. Unless you’re a judge on the D.C. Circuit. Then it has a legally protected interest in having land listed as a historic battlefield in order to shut down any visible productive use of that private property. As Judge Sentelle explained in dissent, this radically expands access to the courts. It … ...

I’ll be speaking September 3rd at 4:30 pm PDT on the Andy Caldwell show about Labor Day and the right to earn a living.  You can stream the broadcast online here. … ...

The U.S. District Court for the District of Utah will soon hear People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners‘ challenge to unconstitutional federal regulations that forbid its members from using their private property and the local government from providing municipal services in order to protect a rare pest, the Utah prairie dog. The h ...

This week we submitted an amicus letter on behalf of the California Farm Bureau Federation urging the California Supreme Court to accept Siskiyou County’s immediate appeal from a state trial court decision.  That decision holds that the public trust doctrine extends to groundwater extraction that affects navigable waters.  The letter argues ...

Last week, my Pacific Legal Foundation colleague, Christina Martin, blogged about the PLF’s new lawsuit against Martin County, Florida.  Pacific Legal has asked the state circuit court to declare that Martin County’s government is illegally prohibiting its clients, Robert and Anita Breinig, from using their private property to expand ...

We received good news this week from the California Court of Appeal.  The court reversed a decision by the lower court, and allows us to continue our legal challenge against the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.  The court’s favorable decision is here.  As we posted earlier, a California statute requires that members of the C ...

Water rights and the public trust doctrine going underground We filed this amicus letter brief in Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board asking the California Supreme Court to review a disturbing opinion from the Court of Appeal. Historically, the “public trust doctrine” referred to a common law rule that ...

I will be speaking at the annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at the William & Mary Law School this October 31 in Williamsburg, Virginia.  The list of speakers promises this to be a lively seminar. As a special treat, this year’s conference will be honoring our great friend, Michael Berger, who is a scholar, gentleman and ...