Our Focus

Restoring America’s
Fundamental Rights

NCLA is committed to cutting the Administrative State down to size by challenging the types of power with which it denies civil liberties.

Our Focus Areas

Judicial Deference

Deference doctrines require judges to defer to an administrative agency’s fact finding, or its interpretation of statutes and regulations. Thus, judges surrender their independent judgment and, where the government is a party, must exhibit systematic bias in the government’s favor, which denies due process of law to the other litigant.

Scope of Authority/ Nondelegation

The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

Free Speech

The Administrative State tries to squelch speech, especially through licensing, speech bans, and speech mandates. Licensing requires one to get the government’s permission prior to speaking. Nothing was more clearly forbidden by the First Amendment than prior restraints on speech, but such controls are now commonplace.

Guidance Abuse

Agency guidance is easier to promulgate than formal rules and regulations, so agencies prefer to issue it. Such “guidance” supplies relatively informal indications of how an agency interprets rules and statutes. Although guidance is not permitted to bind Americans (unlike laws made by elected legislators), agencies treat guidance as binding and courts often fail to stop them.

Our Focus

Restoring America’s
Fundamental Rights

Our Focus Areas

Judicial Deference

Due Process of Law

Scope of Authority/ Nondelegation

Free Speech

Unreasonable Searches

Guidance Abuse

Conditions on Spending

NCLA Site Search

Our Focus

Restoring America’sFundamental Rights

Our Focus Areas

Judicial Deference

Restoring America’s
Fundamental Rights