Separation of Powers

In January, the Supreme Court heard two cases that, according to Vox’s Ian Millhiser, “ask the justices to seize control of much of federal policy-making.” NPR similarly warned that the Supreme Court “could eviscerate the way the federal government regulates, well, everything.” That sounds bad! But those pieces and a w ...

The law finally caught up to James Bond — or at least the actor who used to play him. On March 14, 2024, former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty in federal court in Wyoming to a single count of straying from a footpath in a thermal area of Yellowstone National Park. Brosnan was cited for allegedly standing … ...

James Madison is remembered as the “Father of the Constitution,” and for good reason. His unique approach to politics balanced majority rule and minority rights through a series of battles that forged our constitutional system. His fight for religious liberty in Virginia, the ratification of the Constitution, the founding of the Republi ...

Elon Musk and one of his companies are once again in the sights of federal regulators. This time, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accused SpaceX of committing unfair labor practices by firing several employees who used company communication channels to circulate an open letter objecting to some of Musk’s tweets. But, in its pursuit ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gone rogue. The commission has now finalized a rule that will bully publicly traded companies into reporting environmental information that has no relevance to the financial concerns that matter to investors. As much as environmental activists may want this information to shame companies into embraci ...

The Constitution requires the president “from time to time” to “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” Today, the State of the Union address is a performative event. But as George Will likes to remind us, ’twas not always thus: President Thomas Jefferson gave his thoughts to Congress in writing— ...

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo—the Supreme Court case that could overturn Chevron deference and remove judicial bias toward regulatory agencies—has been called “the plan to incapacitate the federal government.”   “Chevron shields the executive branch from overly intrusive court review,” law professor Nicholas Bag ...

Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases striking at the heart of a legal doctrine that props up the administrative state: Chevron deference. Herring fishermen are challenging a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regulation that requires them to pay the salary of federal monitors riding on their fishing boats. In the ...

Taking the government to court  When the federal government takes an action that hurts you, you probably assume there is a legal remedy available—that you can challenge the government in court. And indeed, you can: Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) “a person suffering legal wrong because of agency action, or adversely affected o ...