Sometimes, a case about standing really is just about standing. But not always. Sometimes a standing analysis reveals, sotto voce (or “esoterically” for all you Straussians1), a flaw in some aspect of the Court’s substantive jurisprudence. I think Murthy2 is one such case. It didn’t really break any new ground on who may bring a claim in federal court,…

For decades, federal law enforcement agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the DEA, have been in the practice of deputizing state and local law enforcement officers as federal agents to serve on joint state-federal task forces. The stated purpose of these joint task forces is to combine resources to combat issues…

When a government agency defends its actions by saying, “But we’ve always done it this way,” it’s worth taking a closer look. This argument is a common theme in the government’s response to legal challenges against agency actions. However, it doesn’t hold as much legal weight as one might think. Longevity and repetition alone don’t…

True to form, the Supreme Court saved one of its most important decisions for the final opinion day of the 2023 Term. On July 1, 2024, the Court handed down its opinion in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors. The cries of anguish from supporters of the administrative state were only eclipsed by the…

In a post last year on this blog, I noted the irony and unfairness of allowing federal agencies to keep millions (if not billions) of dollars they had illegally confiscated from private citizens based on claims that those private citizens had previously obtained those funds through their own wrongdoing.  In particular, I noted recent Supreme…

In 1934, Congress established the SEC and gave it a three-part mission: (1) to protect investors, (2) to maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and (3) to facilitate capital formation. However, in March, the SEC adopted a final rule requiring public companies to disclose various levels of climate information including, among many other categories, “any…