Articles

Victory for school choice in Georgia

June 26, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

Today, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling that will help secure the freedom of students and their parents to choose the schools that are right for them. At stake in Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue was the state’s immensely popular tax credit scholarship program, which enables people to earn tax credits in exchange … ...

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Oregon Cattlemen’s to Fish & Wildlife : "Get moooo-ving."

June 19, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

Today, on behalf of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, PLF sent a 60-day notice of our intent to sue the Service for failing to reach a final determination on its February 2014 proposal to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List. The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to issue a final rule on … ...

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PLF sends dilatory Service notice of a lawsuit threequel

June 05, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

What does it take to get the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to follow the law? For the citizens of Bonner County, Idaho, and members of the Idaho State Snowmobile Association, the answer is AT LEAST one petition, two formal comment letters, and three federal lawsuits. That’s ridiculous! … ...

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Lower courts make rare remedies run-of-the-mill in environmental litigation

March 15, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

It’s not easy to write a punchy opening sentence for a blog post about preliminary injunctions. They aren’t the most thrilling of legal issues. But in the world of environmental litigation, preliminary injunctions—orders from the court for a defendant to stop the activities at issue while a case proceeds—are a way of life. Environme ...

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United States Fish & Wildlife Service belatedly accepts great news

February 09, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

You’d think the United States Fish & Wildlife Service would be thrilled to celebrate the successful recovery of previously endangered plant and animal species. But it’s taken nine long years of litigation by Pacific Legal Foundation to convince the Service to finally issue proposed regulations delisting or downlisting five plant an ...

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Anti-school choice is anti-student

January 24, 2017 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

You know when Cher decides to weigh in on something, it’s a pretty big deal. School choice has been the hot topic of late, prompted by the recent hearings for the president’s Education Secretary pick, Betsy DeVos. DeVos has received a tremendous amount of criticism for her ardent support of school choice. Unfortunately, her critics  ...

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Diligent landowner threatened with colossal fine for unpredictable accident

December 11, 2016 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

Accidents are inevitable. But even similar accidents are not necessarily equal. Human culpability and responsibility matter a great deal. That’s why it’s instinctive that a person who recklessly causes an accident and completely ignores it should endure a more severe punishment than an innocent person who strives to make things right. B ...

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While Fish and Wildlife scoffs at the law, otters scarf urchins

November 14, 2016 | By JOHANNA TALCOTT

“Shall implement.” To most of us, this is perfectly straightforward, mandatory language. But to overreaching bureaucrats at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, “shall implement” is merely a suggestion that the Service can follow at its leisure. In a motion filed last Friday, we asked the court to remind the Service ...