Articles

Townhall : Following The Rules—Courts Can Require Agencies To Follow Congressional Rules

March 08, 2019 | By KAYCEE ROYER

This article was originally published by Townhall on March 8, 2019. As children, we were all taught to follow the rules–obey your parents, share your toys, be nice to others. The same is true for our laws. When we break them, there are consequences. But what happens when government bureaucrats fail to abide by the … ...

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Will Idaho case lead to reining in of unaccountable federal agencies?

November 29, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

Should federal executive branch agencies be accountable to Congress? For most people, the common-sense answer to that question is “yes.” Yet PLF attorneys regularly go head-to-head with government lawyers who seem to believe their agencies should be immune from such basic accountability. Case in point: Today, PLF was in federal court in ...

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Should Follow the Law

August 27, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

The Service claims it is exempt from Regulatory Flexibility Act requirements because critical habitat designations impact only other federal agencies. But this claim is in error. While critical habitat designations do require federal agencies to manage critical habitat, the restrictions of the designations also directly affect small businesses, ma ...

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A ‘Steppe’ in the Right Direction : BLM’s Proposed Amendments to the Sage-Grouse Rules

August 03, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

???Yesterday,? PLF filed comments on Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed amendments to the Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plans in Colorado, ?Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and Northeastern Californian, Utah, and ?Wyoming. The Greater Sage-Grouse is a large ground-dwelling bird. Its habitat is spread across eleven western states where ...

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Supreme Court Splits on Salmon

June 14, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Washington v. United States. This case dealt directly with whether various Indian Tribes in the Puget Sound could require the state of Washington to rebuild road culverts throughout the state to increase salmon populations (see our previous blog post here). PLF filed an amicus brief arguing ̷ ...

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Why state needs to follow endangered species review mandate

June 12, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

Originally published by Capital Press June 11, 2018. Under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is required to conduct status reviews of species listed as either threatened or endangered every five years. The department has unlawfully failed to conduct these five-year status reviews for ...

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Common Sense Prevails in Regulatory Flexibility Act Case

May 30, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

Yesterday, PLF successfully defeated an attempt to dismiss its lawsuit that would require the government to follow its own laws and regulations. At issue is the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), which requires that the government conduct an economic analysis on the costs to small businesses whenever it regulates them. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife S ...

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San Francisco Discriminates Against Property Owners – Again

April 27, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

The City of San Francisco has openly discriminated against property owners to remove rights that are protected by the U.S. and California Constitutions as well as rights that are protected by California state law. Our clients have the right to take these claims to federal court where a neutral, qualified judge can hear them. … ...

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Balancing the Rights of Washington’s Citizens

March 02, 2018 | By KAYCEE ROYER

This week PLF filed an amicus brief in Washington v. United States, arguing that the United States Supreme Court should overturn the Ninth Circuit’s incorrect reading of the Stevens Treaties. The Ninth Circuit’s reading not only massively expands the Treaties’ traditional interpretation, but it also improperly imposes an environme ...