Articles

Supreme Court announces big PLF victories in Sackett and Tyler

May 25, 2023 | By STEVEN D. ANDERSON

I’m going to remember today for a long time.   This morning—at around 7 a.m. where I am in California—the Supreme Court announced unanimous decisions in two Pacific Legal Foundation cases.   Both are stunning victories.   In Sackett v. EPA, which PLF senior attorney Damien Schiff argued on the first day of the term … ...

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Texas poised to ban ‘ideological oaths’ at state universities

May 18, 2023 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

The Texas House of Representatives will soon vote on a bill that would strengthen academic freedom and intellectual diversity at Texas universities. Senate Bill 17 would prohibit public universities from requiring “ideological oaths or statements” of students, staff, or job applicants, and it would put an end to university offices dedic ...

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Daily Journal : Extraterritorial state statutes and the emerging horizontal separation of powers doctrine

May 16, 2023 | By ADI DYNAR

On May 11, the Supreme Court issued a somewhat convoluted decision in National Pork Producers Council & American Farm Bureau Federation v. Karen Ross. The case raised a significant question: can California – or any other state – enact statutes whose primary function is to dictate standards and conduct that occur in other states  ...

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Massachusetts took their kids. Now they are fighting to protect parents’ rights

May 11, 2023 | By BRITTANY HUNTER

Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins are that rare kind of people who, despite our less-than-perfect world, have chosen to see the good in all that surrounds them. The couple lives by the creed, “most people are good and are doing their best most of the time.” And within just a few minutes of speaking to … ...

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Bloomberg Law : Courts’ Chevron Deference to Agencies Should Go to the Landfill

May 09, 2023 | By ADI DYNAR

On May 1, the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which is sure to send shockwaves through the administrative state. At issue is the doctrine known as Chevron deference, which requires that courts defer to federal agency interpretation of statutes. It sounds like legalese, but in practice, Chevron deference ...

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Anchorage Daily News : Alaska should ensure its ‘blight tax’ won’t give local officials too much power

May 09, 2023 | By SAM SPIEGELMAN

Last month, Alaska’s Senate approved a bill that would, if left in its original form, allow local jurisdictions to impose “blight taxes” on properties that are — at government officials’ discretion — deemed “blighted.” Adopting the Senate’s version of the bill would be a serious mistake. Thankfully, how ...

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Bloomberg Law : The Supreme Court Puts In-House Tribunals on the Chopping Block

May 01, 2023 | By ADI DYNAR

On April 14, the US Supreme Court unanimously handed a loss on a silver platter to the administrative state. In Cochran v. SEC and Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC, the court concluded the executive adjudication schemes set out in the Securities Exchange Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act don’t displace a federal district court’s  ...

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Christina Martin is fighting for the forgotten

April 24, 2023 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

The first case Christina Martin ever argued in court wasn’t big enough to catch most public interest attorneys’ attention. It was about a ticket on a car.   Christina was a young Pacific Legal Foundation attorney in her first real legal job. She’d moved cross-country from Oregon to Florida for “her dream job” at PLF. ...

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Wall Street Journal : The Supreme Court Takes Up ‘Home-Equity Theft’

April 22, 2023 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

Geraldine Tyler never thought she’d end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court—especially at 94. But she also never imagined the government would seize her Minneapolis home and sell it. Ms. Tyler is a victim of what’s often called home-equity theft, but this form of robbery isn’t criminal; in fact, it’s legal in a … ...