Notice & Comment

Analyzing oral arguments in United States v. Texas

Wednesday, April 20, 2016 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Eastern | Teleconference

Today the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Texas, one of the year’s most closely watched cases on constitutional and administrative law. The State of Texas and other plaintiffs challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s guidance on enforcement of immigration laws, also known as “Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents,” or “DAPA.”

As many commentators (including some on this site) have observed, the case presents questions of whether DHS violated the APA by failing to subject its policy to notice-and-comment proceedings or was otherwise “arbitrary and capricious,” and also whether the State plaintiffs have standing to bring the lawsuit in the first place.

Indeed, the case has attracted widespread attention among not just constitutional and administrative law scholars but also the public at large, as reflected in the number of amicus briefs filed on both sides of the case.

The Court already has released the argument transcript, and audio should be released at the end of the week.

To help ABA Admin Law Section members and the public at large to better understand the case and oral arguments, the Section will convene a “teleforum” conference call on April 20 to discuss the case in light of oral arguments. This discussion, the latest in the Section’s “Supreme Court Series,” will feature two experts on administrative and constitutional law, each of whom participated in amicus briefs filed in this case:

Gillian Metzger is the Stanley H. Fuld Professor of Law at the Columbia Law School, where she writes and teaches in the areas of administrative and constitutional law, with a specialization in federalism. She has authored numerous articles on administrative law and the constitution, and co-edits Gellhorn and Byse’s Administrative Law. She clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and for Judge Patricia Wald of the D.C. Circuit. In United States v. Texas, she joined several administrative law scholars in an amicus brief supporting the United States.

Andrew Oldham is Deputy General Counsel in the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. He previously served as Texas’s Deputy Solicitor General, and in the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Before that, he practiced administrative law at the Washington firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel. He clerked for Justice Samuel Alito, and for Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In United States v. Texas, he was counsel for Governor Abbott and other Governors in support of the State of Texas.

The teleforum will be moderated by Adam White, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a member of the ABA Admin Law Section’s Council, and co-director of the Section’s Supreme Court Series.

The teleforum will be open to ABA members and the general public. There is no cost associated with this program, but registration is required.

RSVP by Tuesday, April 19, 2016 to: Angela.Petro@americanbar.org.

Dial-in info will be sent via email a day or two before the program. No CLE Credit is available for this program.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email