Separation of Powers

It all began in 2013, when investment adviser George Jarkesy was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of securities fraud. But instead of proving its case against Jarkesy to an independent judge and jury, SEC lawyers turned to an SEC tribunal and an SEC-employed administrative law judge to prosecute the defendant. When that judge ...

James and Dominick Russo are fishermen who earn their living off the Florida coast. But their livelihood is in jeopardy. James and Dominick have worked in the commercial fishing industry most of their lives. James, the older brother, has more than 30 years of experience under his belt. During the pandemic, the brothers moved to Sarasota, Florida ...

In the first chapter of Yuval Levin's new book, American Covenant, he describes the U.S. Constitution as "a terse patchwork of compromises." Not a promising start, for the United States or for this reader, who has devoted a good amount of time to thinking about and debating the meaning of that patchwork.   But American Covenant makes a compelli ...

Writing in The Dallas Morning News, Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys Luke Wake and Frank Garrison discuss the case of Robert Mayfield (which Luke argued at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court earlier this month).   From Luke and Frank's op-ed:  As the owner of 13 Dairy Queen franchises in and around Austin, restaurateur Ro ...

Nearly 40 years ago, Congress enacted the Food Security Act of 1985, a comprehensive bill about farming. Included in this bill were wetland conservation provisions that govern how farmers must treat wetlands on their property. Despite the name of the bill, these provisions—colloquially known as "Swampbuster"—threaten food security by overregula ...

This article originally appeared in the American Bar Association's Supreme Court Preview. The Supreme Court's October Term 2023 likely will be remembered in history books as a turning point for the constitutional separation of powers. Rulings in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and SEC v. ...

There are a few things everyone should be able to agree on when it comes to the government. First, our government should answer to the People—not the other way around. Second, federal agencies should always have to conform to the laws Congress enacted. And third, there must always be limits on an agency's power to make rules affecting our lives a ...

The regulatory leviathan has wrapped its tentacles around a faith-based radio and TV network on the West Coast, as the Federal Communications Commission underhandedly pressures Perry Atkinson into adopting race- and sex-conscious hiring practices. Perry embarked on a mission when he sold his house in 1983, bought a 1,000-watt radio station in Me ...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) thinks it knows how to run small businesses better than their owners. That is the message the FTC sent the millions of small business owners across the country with its ban on non-compete agreements, set to take effect on September 4.    By some estimates, 48% of small business owners use non-compete agreeme ...