Articles

Can agencies avoid congressional oversight by adopting rules without public notice?

March 08, 2017 | By JONATHAN WOOD

As absurd as the titular question seems to ordinary people, an E&E News story quotes several law professors claiming the answer is “yes.” The story is a detailed analysis of the Red Tape Rollback project that Pacific Legal Foundation has launched with its partners—Heritage Foundation, Club for Growth, Competitive Enterprise In ...

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Supreme Court schedules oral argument in Murr for March 20, 2017

February 03, 2017 | By J. DAVID BREEMER

Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its oral argument calendar for March, 2017. Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is pleased to note that the Court included PLF’s important property rights case, Murr v. State of Wisconsin, on that March calendar. The Court has specifically scheduled the Murr case for argument on March 20, 2017. … ...

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Extraterritorial state laws are unconstitutional

June 15, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

This morning, a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit held that a Minnesota law regulating greenhouse gas emissions beyond the state’s borders is invalid. This is a welcome result. PLF, joined by NFIB, filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the challenge, arguing that the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause forbids extraterritor ...

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Ninth Circuit oral argument in sea otter case

May 09, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Last week, I argued PLF’s sea otter case before the Ninth Circuit. The issue before the Court is an essential one, that could have impacts far beyond this case: Can federal agencies escape judicial scrutiny for illegal actions if they have violated the law before? That seems silly, I know. You may be familiar with … ...

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Oral argument in sea otter case

May 03, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

This Friday, May 6th, the Ninth Circuit will consider whether federal bureaucrats can escape judicial review of their illegal acts by pointing to their prior violations of the law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service argues that PLF’s challenge to an illegal rule regarding the sea otter should not be heard because this isn’t the … ...

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Can agencies overrule Congress?

April 05, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Today, PLF filed its opening brief in a challenge to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s denial of a petition demanding that the agency follow the law. This case centers on a sea otter compromise that Congress struck between the Service, environmentalists, and those who work and play in Southern California waters. Recently, the Service has ̷ ...

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PLF petition challenges illegal Endangered Species Act regulation

March 15, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Today, PLF submitted a petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, challenging a regulation that illegally extends the Endangered Species Act’s burdensome take prohibition to all threatened species. The petition argues that federal bureaucrats have no authority to reverse Congress’ judgment that the stringent take prohibition sh ...

Articles

If a tree falls in the forest, don't take a selfie with it

October 06, 2014 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Last month, the Forest Service proposed a regulation that would require permits costing as much as $1500 to take photographs or film on Forest Service land. The public response has been overwhelmingly negative I tried but couldn’t make the sentence long enough for all the criticism…. To put this simply enough that a Forest Service R ...

Articles

Prairie skyline towers over Washington D.C.

September 26, 2013 | By JONATHAN WILLIAMS

A North Dakota businessman recently announced plans to develop a 352-foot tower in Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo is a small city with a population of 105,000. The metropolitan population of Fargo is only 3% that of Washington, D.C. However, even without this latest development, Fargo has more 200 ft. commercial buildings than our nation’s capita ...