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Author: Brandon Middleton The last couple of weeks has seen good news for Californians who have lost water and jobs as a result of the Endangered Species Act. But leave it to environmental groups to express dismay over Judge Wanger's decision to give humans a voice in the regulatory process: "The last time around, he … ...

The federal government, although originally vested with only limited powers, has greatly expanded its reach over time.  Examples abound: the health insurance individual mandate, federal regulation of land use as a consequence of the Endangered Species Act, and centralized control of water resources under the Clean Water Act come to mind.  It was ...

My most recent post in the ongoing discussion about substantive due process discusses federalism, states’ rights, and the Individual Mandate. … ...

In addition to the constitutionality of the Individual Mandate, the Supreme Court will also be considering the constitutionality of PPACA’s Medicaid expansion provisions. PLF filed a brief on this issue which you can read about here. The Medicaid issue centers around the so-called “spending clause,” which says Congress can “ ...

The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments about Arizona’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. That state’s law gives police officers the duty to check identification and take other steps to enforce federal immigration laws which, the state argues, the federal officers have left unenforced. The Obama Administration argues th ...

An excellent video explaining why states should resist the urge to begin implementing the Obamacare “exchanges,” at the very least, until the Supreme Court rules. … ...

Yesterday I attended the oral argument for Lemire v. Washington Department of Ecology at the Washington Supreme Court. The primary question the Court must resolve in that case is whether Ecology committed a taking when it ordered cattle rancher Joseph Lemire to install livestock exclusion fencing around a creek that runs through his property. The ...

The State of Alaska has asked the United States Supreme Court to review a decision of the Ninth Circuit which says that the federal government, instead of the state, has the power to regulate hunting and fishing in navigable waters in Alaska.  PLF has filed an amicus brief in support of Alaska, encouraging the high … ...

I was on the Armstrong & Getty program this morning to talk about some important Supreme Court environmental law cases that are pending now, about my new book, The Conscience of The Constitution–and about why Jon Stewart is wrong to ridicule the idea of limited government. You can listen online here. I was on last week, … ...