SCOTUS hears oral arguments in tariff challenges—PLF legal experts weigh in on hearing
Yesterday morning, a global audience tuned in to the U.S. Supreme Court's livestream to listen to oral arguments in the lawsuits over President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Attorneys for the government presented arguments supporting the Trump administration's rationale for enacting the tariffs, while two sets of attorneys asked the ...
Nebraska’s cruel crackdown threatens vital care for adults with developmental disabilities
Injustice is lurking around the quiet corners of Lincoln, Nebraska. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is threatening to strip away the proven and personalized care of adults with developmental disabilities, by dismantling the programs that gave them independence and hope. For nearly two decades, Integrated Life Choices ...
Wall Street Journal : When the Bureaucrats Come for Therapy Dolphins
Americans expect the government to keep them safe from drug traffickers, human smugglers and violent criminals. Add "therapists who help patients through dolphin encounters" to the federal bureaucracy's list of societal outlaws. In Hawaii, Eliza Wille and Lisa Denning are part of a small community of professionals who had built their lives aroun ...
Sharing administrative judges is prevalent, and it undermines the Constitution
There's an entire quasi-judicial system of administrative law judges (ALJs) within the federal bureaucracy who hear cases brought by agencies against defendants. Often these judges are employees of the very agencies bringing the cases before them, but sometimes they're on loan from other agencies. Very little is known about how this works or how pr ...
National Review : When Financial Industry Regulators Are Judge, Prosecutor, and Beneficiary
Imagine being dragged into a courtroom where the judge works for the prosecutor — and if (or, when) you lose, this judge-prosecutor pockets the money. Welcome to the dystopian world of FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. FINRA, a "self-regulatory organization," enforces federal securities laws but operates without the safeguard ...
A database to track the administrative state like never before
As long as people have governed each other, leaders have passed the mantle of responsibility to others. As far back as 1689, John Locke wrote, "The legislative can have no power to transfer their authority of making laws, and place it in other hands." In other words, legislatures—not bureaucrats—should make laws. But that's been much more of ...
The president’s removal authority is key to the separation of powers
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) while lower courts continue to review the firing's legality. This is the latest in a series of firings as the president tests whether he can remove members of independent boards and commissions until a case officially reaches the Court. Co ...
How legislators can reform the administrative state in the states
The federal administrative state rightfully receives much attention from elected officials and policymakers. So should the state administrative state. State constitutions have unique features that the U.S. Constitution does not: They provide more robust protections for the separation of powers. State legislators should use these protections to d ...
Bureaucrats can’t skip the rules. A disability care provider’s lawsuit shows why.
When Integrated Life Choices was founded in 2006, it had a clear mission: to help adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities live independently and engage meaningfully in their communities. Nearly two decades later, the Nebraska-based organization operates a statewide network serving vulnerable adults through 24-hour residential care, ...