I love the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Many years ago I flew to Houston for a clerkship interview with Judge Jerry Smith. I had never been to Houston before; indeed, I may not have ever been to Texas before. When I arrived, I remember worrying about the humidity and the heat. […]
This post is self-indulgent; I apologize. This week marks the end of another year of D.C. Circuit Review — Reviewed. My first post was on August 10, 2015. It is now August 11, 2017. Between those two dates, I’ve authored more than 100 posts about the work of the D.C. Circuit. (I don’t think anyone […]
The D.C. Circuit just issued an unusual order in the ongoing saga of Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. v. SEC. I won’t repeat the full background here; this post already does the trick. The dispute is whether SEC administrative law judges are “inferior officers” for purposes of Article II. The Tenth Circuit has held that […]
Last week’s post discussed the Court’s en banc oral argument in PHH Corp. v. CFPB. This week’s post will discuss the other hugely important administrative law case pending before the en banc Court: Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. v. SEC. The format will be the same — as will be the caveats. Again, I do […]
This has been a very busy week in the D.C. Circuit. Not only did the Court issue eight opinions, it also heard oral argument en banc in two of the most important administrative law cases of the year. (Jennifer Mascott has already shared her thoughts.) The oral arguments are fascinating. If you are interested, the […]
This week the D.C. Circuit sitting en banc heard arguments in its blockbuster (by Washington standards) double-header featuring the appointments and removal implications of Article II. In a nutshell, the cases address whether Article II’s transparency and accountability requirements mean (i) a single head of an executive branch agency must be removable at will (PHH […]
One of the most important cases the D.C. Circuit decided last year was the so-called Amtrak case. As I mentioned last month, the government’s cert petition was due February 6th. No petition, however, was filed. Instead, the United States determined that it would not seek certiorari at all. Accordingly, the panel decision — with its […]
The D.C. Circuit just granted en banc review in Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. v. SEC. I’ve discussed this case before. In short, the full D.C. Circuit (minus Chief Judge Garland) will decide whether the SEC’s administrative law judges are “employees” or “inferior officers.” If the ALJs are mere employees, then the manner of their […]
Extra, extra — Tenth Circuit explicitly disagrees with D.C. Circuit regarding SEC administrative law judges. This is a special, midweek edition of D.C. Circuit Review — Reviewed. The Tenth Circuit just created a circuit split with the D.C. Circuit about an important constitutional question. Earlier this year, the D.C. Circuit held that SEC Administrative Law […]
This week’s post marks an anniversary: one year of D.C. Circuit Review–Reviewed. Before summarizing the cases this week, I’ll take a moment to reflect on reading every opinion the D.C. Circuit has released since August 10, 2015.* First, from day one, I made a conscious decision to not let on whether I think the court […]