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 […]
I’ll admit it: I like words I don’t come across every day.* For instance, I recently heard “carnival food” at a very formal gathering and smiled. What a great word: “carnival”—especially combined with “food.” (“Carnival fare” would have done the trick too, but I like “food” better.) This has been a very busy week at […]
Last October, I dedicated one of these posts to Judge Frank Easterbrook. I praised him for being “an extraordinary jurist” who is “prolific; influential; and scholarly.”* Of course, Easterbrook is not a judge on the D.C. Circuit, nor would he like to be. But he is an important judge and his views matter—indeed, Westlaw lists […]
Just over six months ago, I set resolutions for myself, law students, the Supreme Court, the Big 12 Conference, my freeloading chickens, and the D.C. Circuit, among others. This week seems as good as any to check in on how everyone is doing. First, I resolved to write something for the Wall Street Journal. Alas, […]
To be sure, I don’t really know what life was like in the 1970s; I wasn’t even born. Even so, I’m sure it was dreadful. After all, as I read my history books, all I see are ugly clothes, disco, impeachment, killer rabbits, long lines for gas, plus something about a “malaise.” Poor souls: The only […]
Warning! This post may only be of interest to me. But there is a mystery this week in the D.C. Circuit: What happened in Coburn v. Murphy? In Coburn, the D.C. Circuit included an intriguing footnote: “Judge Henderson was drawn to replace Chief Judge Garland, who originally heard argument in this case but did not […]
June has come to an end, the Justices have dispersed, and once more, in the words of a young John Roberts, “the Constitution is safe for the summer.” Every year, the Supreme Court rushes to finish up its work before the Fourth of July. And then the Justices are off to Austria, Malta, Arkansas, Italy, […]
As Will Baude reminds us, courts often do important things that don’t receive enough attention. Baude dubbed this dynamic the “shadow docket” in the context of the Supreme Court, but there is no reason why his insight is limited to the Justices. Courts everywhere make decisions that are significant but yet don’t end up in […]
My son is away at camp this week, and that’s probably for the best. It means he has missed the last two NBA Finals games. One of his least favorite players is LeBron James, and LeBron—by any measure—has had a pretty amazing week. At the same time, my son is a huge fan of Shaun […]
Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit announced its decision in United States Telecom Association v. FCC, i.e., the Net Neutrality case.* The co-authored majority opinion (Judges Tatel and Srinivasan) upheld the FCC’s new scheme over Judge Williams’ partial dissent. Reviewing the competing opinions, I was struck by something: the asymmetrical treatment of economists. First, let’s review the […]
Yesterday, while scanning my Twitter feed, I found myself reading a great article in The Atlantic: “The Senate Finally Passed Chemical Safety Reform.” This article is well worth your time, especially because the legislation is now headed to President Obama for his signature. As I was reading, however, I noticed something: two uses of the […]
Perhaps another circuit court has adopted this local rule too (though I’ve not yet come across it), but for tables of authorities in the D.C. Circuit, “an asterisk must be placed next to those authorities on which the brief principally relies, together with a notation at the bottom of the first page of the table […]
Everyone, it seems, is waiting for the D.C. Circuit’s “net neutrality” decision. The case was argued last December and so could be decided anytime.* But it wasn’t decided this week. Although the D.C. Circuit’s only opinion this week did involve the FCC, and while it was authored by Judge Tatel, it wasn’t the big one […]
One night during the summer of 1987, Judge David Sentelle communed with the dead. Sentelle, then of the Western District of North Carolina, was confronted with a tricky Pullman Abstention question. As he struggled with the issue, he asked what the Honorable Wilson Warlick would do. Judge Warlick had been dead for almost a decade. […]
This week, Chief Judge Garland sent his questionnaire to the Senate. As I reviewed that “lengthy” submission, my mind turned again to “brooding spirts.” In particular, it is interesting that Garland’s list of his “most significant” opinions includes two dissents. To begin, here is Garland’s list: Cause of Action v. FTC (2015) Wagner v. FEC […]