all things amicus

Amicus Brief Supports Meaningful Judicial Review of SEC Constitutional Challenge

In light of recent Supreme Court decisions, there is a substantial question about whether SEC administrative enforcement proceedings, conducted by SEC Administrative Law Judges who can be removed only “for cause,” violate the separation of powers. The certiorari petition in Gibson v. SEC, No. 20-276,  asks the Supreme Court to decide whether  a constitutional challenge to […]

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U.S. Agrees That Appealability of Federal Contractors’ Derivative Sovereign Immunity Defense Warrants Supreme Court Review

If a federal contractor can establish that it is entitled to “derivative sovereign immunity” when hit with personal injury litigation for carrying out the government’s work, is it immune from suit or merely protected from liability? And if a federal district court denies a motion to dismiss that is based on derivative sovereign immunity, is

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Five-Minute Guide To Trade Association Amicus Briefs

Does your association focus on legal, legislative, regulatory, or public policy issues? If so, amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs should be part of your advocacy program. This Five-Minute Guide to Trade Association Amicus Briefs explains the amicus brief basics that every association should know. What Is an Amicus Brief? Amicus curiae briefs are

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Will Stare Decisis Save a Woman’s Right To Abortion?

For more than a year, Supreme Court Justices have been fiercely debating the proper role of stare decisis—adherence to precedent. They have engaged in this debate in cases that involved whether to overturn Supreme Court precedents on a variety of subjects. See Supreme Court Justices Continue To Debate When To Overturn “Bad” Precedent & Starry,

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Supreme Court Justices Continue to Debate When to Overturn “Bad” Precedent

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

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Amicus Brief Urges Supreme Court To Rule On Federal Contractor Right To Immediately Appeal Immunity-From-Suit

This week I filed on behalf of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, through its Center for Law and Public Policy, an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court to review a question that is fundamental to civil litigation fairness: When a private party sues a federal contractor for alleged tortious conduct in connection with

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“Friendly Guidance” from the Supreme Court Clerk

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

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Supreme Court Urged To Hear Appeal About Saving Jobs For People Who Are Blind

The federal AbilityOne Program, administered by the AbilityOne Commission, provides employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people who are blind or severely disabled. These skilled and dedicated individuals work at § 501(c)(3) nonprofit agencies (“NPAs”) that manufacture or provide a wide variety of products or services needed by the federal government. To create and

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Starry, Starry Fight? Justices Debate “Stare Decisis”

Late last term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued several decisions that reveal, in a variety of contexts, the justices’ current thinking on the role and application of stare decisis. My new Legal Backgrounder for the Washington Legal Foundation,  The Fuss Over “Stare Decisis”: Four October Term 2018 Rulings Open Window to Justices’ Current Thinking, discusses

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