Articles

The wheels of justice grind slowly. And sometimes they come to a complete halt. That’s what happened over the past year to fishermen challenging the illegal designation of a 5,000 square mile national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. The first anniversary of the filing of their case passed several weeks and they are still waiting … ...

As President Obama’s final term came to a close, he engaged in what has unfortunately become a favorite pastime for lame duck Presidents: trying to build a legacy by abusing the Antiquities Act. President Obama was the Barry Bonds of this abuse, shattering his predecessors’ records. All told, he declared more than 550 million acres  ...

For answers, check out this podcast by the Federalist Society, moderated by Dean Reuter. Brett Shumate of Wiley Rein discusses the impact of the president’s nominees to the D.C. Circuit, while I tackle the issue with respect to the Ninth Circuit.  The consensus was that the president’s appointments will liberalize these courts’ j ...

“Imagine if we broke out of these tired old patterns.  Imagine if we did something different.”  That wasn’t John Lennon speaking from the grave, it was the President delivering his State of the Union.  And he even continued, “I commit to every Republican here tonight that I will not only seek out your ideas, I … ...

Author: Joshua Thompson I wanted to share with you some pictures taken of PLF Principal Attorney Sharon Browne at the White House.  As you likely recall, Ms. Browne was recently appointed by President Obama to the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation. Last week Ms. Browne attended an event at the White House that … ...

The Obama Administration’s health care legislation raises compelling questions about the limits of federal power. The requirement on individuals to buy health insurance, for example, negates the freedom not to buy a designated product, and pushes beyond a reasonable understanding of federal authority to regulate interstate commerce. PLF alrea ...

Author: Joshua Thompson This week the Obama Administration filed an amicus brief in Fisher v. University of Texas.  This case deals with the extent to which universities can deny individuals equal protection rights in the name of promoting group-based diversity. PLF, the Center for Equal Opportunity, and the National Association of Scho ...

Author:    Damien M. Schiff Yesterday, Pacific Legal Foundation held a press conference at the Capitol in Sacramento to notify Governor Schwarzenegger and President Obama that PLF has collected over 12,000 signatures to its "Save Our Water" petition.  The petition asks Governor Schwarzenegger to request ...

There is plenty of coverage of Sunday's visit by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to Fresno. Aquafornia has a nice roundup of the news stories — the problem with these stories, however, is that they fail to portray how truly uninspiring Salazar's visit was. While the Secretary's visit was a nice gesture to those who have … ...