The battle to determine the import of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2024 ruling in Relentless v. Department of Commerce and its companion case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo in the lower courts has featured a few notable flare-ups recently. Such flare-ups could be expected. The ultimate import of a Supreme Court opinion over the activities…

After the Supreme Court ruled last year in SEC v. Jarkesythat the Securities and Exchange Commission can no longer impose civil monetary penalties in its juryless home-court administrative tribunals, a consensus emerged that agencies might still use their administrative tribunals to prosecute cases that threaten only non-monetary, purportedly “equitable” sanctions—such as industry bars and suspensions,…

Debanking is the predictable and disturbing consequence of overregulation—the vastly expanded “know your customer” laws over the past 15 years—operating in service of a weaponized administrative state.  Bank regulators have the power to levy severe sanctions on private financial institutions if they don’t cancel those in conflict with the government—whether ideologically, politically, religiously or otherwise…

The Legislative branch creates the law, the Executive branch executes the law, and the Judicial branch interprets the law—all within a system of checks and balances.  The upshot?  A limited government of separated powers that answers to “We the People,” not the other way around.  In other words, a system of government designed to preserve,…

Earlier this year, in United States v. Poore, the Seventh Circuit deferred to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s interpretation of its Sentencing Guidelines. No. 22-3154, 2025 WL 1201946 (7th Cir. Apr. 25, 2025). The court’s deference followed their understanding of Stinson v. United States, where the Supreme Court held that Guidelines commentary receives Auer deference, giving…

Andy McCarthy has a great article in NR concerning a recent “Rule 28(j)” letter sent to the Federal Circuit in V.O.S. Selections, et al. v. Trump, et al., Nos 25-1812, 25-1813.  The use and abuse of Rule 28(j) letters is a hobbyhorse of mine, particularly as far as the Department of Justice is concerned.  Rule…