Law 360 published the following Expert Analysis on May 15, 2020 under the title “With Friends Like These: The Amicus Questions In Flynn Case,” and is posted here with permission. Law360 (May 15, 2020, 6:36 PM EDT) — Most Law360 readers are familiar with amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs, especially at the […]
The Flynn Case Doesn’t Need “Friends” Like These Read More »
Reprinted from Washington Legal Foundation’s Legal Pulse (April 22, 2020) Last Fall I wrote a Legal Backgrounder for Washington Legal Foundation, The Fuss Over Stare Decisis, that highlighted several October Term 2019 Supreme Court decisions in which the Justices’ debated the criteria for overturning precedent. As the April 20 decision in Ramos v. Louisiana, No. 18-5924, makes clear, the
Supreme Court Justices Continue to Debate When to Overturn “Bad” Precedent Read More »
California’s Attorney General just doesn’t get it. Maybe he’s been watching too many of those slick infomercials trolling for Roundup® “victims.” In 1972 Congress enacted a law—the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)—that gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sole and exclusive authority to regulate the content of pesticide product labeling. FIFRA vests EPA
California Can’t Usurp USEPA’s Authority Over Roundup® Labeling Read More »
My op-ed on the joy of handling appellate work on a set-fee basis, reproduced below and downloadable above, was published by Law360 on November 4, 2019. It was Law360’s most-viewed Expert Analysis during that week. The op-ed was republished in the February 2020 edition of DRI’s For The Defense magazine. Have you discovered the joy of
Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys Read More »
The “victims’ rights bar” is faced with a new challenge: how to convince a jury that a widely used weed control product causes cancer even though after decades of study, the federal agency responsible for regulating the product has concluded that the product “is not a carcinogen,” and that “there are no risks of concern
US EPA’s Glyphosate No-Risk Finding Withers Plaintiffs’ Bar Read More »
This post was reprinted on January 27, 2020 by the Washington Legal Foundation under the title “No Redress: Future Generations’ Overheated Climate-Related Suit Doesn’t Stand” Ninth Circuit Holds That “Kids’ Suit” Plaintiffs Lack Standing On January 17, 2020, climate-change activists ran into a man-made constitutional roadblock called the separation of powers. A Ninth Circuit panel
Climate Alarmists’ “Kids’ Suit” Barred By Separation of Powers Read More »
When the Supreme Court denies certiorari, i.e., declines to hear an appeal, it normally issues a one-line order without explanation. Sometimes, however, one or more Justices will file a formal dissent discussing why the Court should have granted review. Justice Alito’s November 25, 2019 dissent from the denial of certiorari in two related defamation suits,
How Far Does the First Amendment Go To Protect Public Debate About Climate Change? Read More »
The Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States has posted a Memorandum To Those Intending To File An Amicus Curiae Brief (October 2019). For attorneys with experience authoring and filing Supreme Court amicus briefs — see Learning the High Art of Amicus Brief Writing — the Clerk’s guidance does not contain any earthshaking
“Friendly Guidance” from the Supreme Court Clerk Read More »
Note: On August 26, 2019, the Washington Legal Foundation published this article as part of its Legal Pulse blog. FIFRA, the federal pesticide statute, gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exclusive authority to regulate the content of pesticide labeling, including health & safety warnings. Section 24(b) unequivocally declares that a “State shall not impose .
EPA Finally Flexes Some Preemption Muscle Read More »
More than 100 members of the House of Representatives—all Democrats—are sponsoring or co-sponsoring the so-called Ban Toxic Pesticides Act of 2019, H.R.230. This short bill would immediately ban all sale and use of chlorpyrifos, a highly beneficial insecticide long used in agricultural production and for certain other uses such as mosquito control and turf maintenance.
Pesticide Ban Bills Ditch Science For Politics Read More »
