Administrative Law Commons^™

Administrative Law, Martin M. Wilson, Jennifer A. Blackburn

Mercer Law Review

The difficult economic times and resulting budget cuts to many state agencies were evident in the reduced number of high-level administrative law cases brought before the courts during this survey period. It seems in tough times such litigation is often not pursued to the degree it is in a more comfortable economic climate. As the economy begins to recover, we will likely see an increase in the number and complexity of administrative law cases brought before the appellate courts.

This Article is a survey of cases from the Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals from June 1, 2010 …

The Tragedy Of The Horse, American Icon, Tim Opitz

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Whether a prohibition on slaughter improves the welfare of the American horse population is the focus of this article. At the time it was written, winter of 2010-2011, a confluence of Federal and State legislative action had ended domestic slaughter. These actions are detailed in the body of this article. Since 2007, the legal status of horse slaughter remained static. Just as Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion explained, an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Legislative inertia is the perspective from which this article was originally written. However, Newton's first law also stated that the object …

United States Food Law Update: Moving Toward A More Balanced Food Regulatory Regime, A. Bryan Endres, Nicholas R. Johnson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

For decades, the federal government has played a significant role in promoting healthy eating. In the early 1900s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) promoted a foundational diet of milk, proteins, fruits and vegetables, and grains. Most Americans are at least somewhat familiar, although perhaps confused, with the more nuanced healthy eating recommendations contained in the food pyramid - first employed in 1992. And virtually every American has experienced the federally supported school lunch program. In the first half of 2011, these two iconic programs underwent significant change as part of a stepped-up effort to improve the health of …

Reclaiming The Legal Fiction Of Congressional Delegation, Lisa Schultz Bressman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The framework for judicial review of agency statutory interpretations is based on a legal fiction – namely, that Congress intends to delegate interpretive authority to agencies. Critics argue that the fiction is false because Congress is unlikely to think about the delegation of interpretive authority at all, or in the way that the Court imagines. They also contend that the fiction is fraudulent because the Court does actually care about whether Congress intends to delegate interpretive authority in any particular instance, but applies a presumption triggered by statutory ambiguity or a particularized analysis involving factors unrelated to congressional delegation. In …

Unfit For Prime Time: Why Cable Television Regulations Cannot Perform Trinko's 'Antitrust Function', Keith Klovers

Michigan Law Review

Until recently, regulation and antitrust law operated in tandem to safeguard competition in regulated industries. In three recent decisions-Trinko, Credit Suisse, and Linkline-the Supreme Court limited the operation of the antitrust laws when regulation "performs the antitrust function." This Note argues that cable programming regulations-which are in some respects factually similar to the telecommunications regulations at issue in Trinko and Linkline-do not perform the antitrust function because they cannot deter anticompetitive conduct. As a result, Trinko and its siblings should not foreclose antitrust claims for damages that arise out of certain cable programming disputes.

Cityland – Vol. 8, No. 10, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2011

This issue of CityLand covers significant land use and zoning developments in New York City as of November 15, 2011. The City Council approved street-grade changes in Coney Island to improve flood resilience and pedestrian access, and reviewed the creation of the Westchester Square Business Improvement District in the Bronx. The City Planning Commission approved the Admirals Row Plaza project at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which includes a supermarket and industrial space, and granted a special permit for a private K–12 school in West Chelsea. A new Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District was established in Park Slope to promote …

Appeal No. 0832: Meridian Energy Company, Big Sky Energy, Inc. V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2011-01 (Schloss-Hans Well #1)

Summary Of State, Dep’T Of Taxation V. Masco Builder, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. 66, Rami Hernandez

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

An appeal from a district court order granting a petition for judicial review in a tax matter.

Cityland – Vol. 8, No. 9, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2011

This issue of CityLand highlights significant land use and zoning developments in New York City as of October 15, 2011. The City Council approved Signature Urban Properties’ ten-building, 1,300-unit mixed-use development in Crotona Park East, Bronx, and a 181-block contextual rezoning in Williamsbridge and Baychester. The Council rejected the landmark designation of the Hardenbrook-Somarindyck House at 135 Bowery, citing economic development concerns. The Gravesend Bay shopping center proposal was approved, featuring a BJ’s Wholesale Club and waterfront esplanade. The Council also established the Chinatown BID after extensive public debate and created the new M1-6D zoning district to support mixed-use development …

Summary Of City Of North Las Vegas V. Warburton, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 62, Daniella Labounty

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court considered an appeal from a district court order granting a petition for judicial review in a workers’ compensation action.

Regulations Of Hydraulic Fracturing Under The Safe Drinking Water Act, Keith B. Hall

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

For more than 20 years after the 1974 enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act ("SD WA ), the US. Environmental Protection Agency interpreted the SDWA as not applying to hydraulic fracturing. The United States Eleventh Circuit ruled in 1997 that the SDWTA applied to fracturing, but the EPA chose not to consent to that interpretation outside the Eleventh Circuit. Further the EPA continued to take the position that its existing SDWTA regulations did not apply to hydraulic fracturing, and it never promulgated new regulations to cover fracturing. In 2005, the Congress passed legislation that generally is read as applying …

Derivatives: A Twenty-First Century Understanding, Timothy E. Lynch

Faculty Works

Derivatives are commonly defined as some variation of the following: a financial instrument whose value is derived from the performance of a secondary source such as an underlying bond, commodity or index. But this definition is both over-inclusive and under-inclusive. Thus, not surprisingly, derivatives are largely misunderstood, including by many policy makers, regulators and legal analysts. It is important for interested parties such as policy makers to understand derivatives, because the types and uses of derivatives have exploded in the last few decades, and because these financial instruments can provide both social benefits and cause social harms. This Article presents …

Cohen: Hard Case Makes (Semi) Bad Law, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

The first Justice Harlan famously cautioned that hard cases can lead to bad law. United States v. Clark, 96 U.S. 37, 49 (1878) (dissenting opinion). This aphorism captures the reality that, when confronted with litigating equities strongly favoring one party, judges tend to massage doctrine to support judgment for that party.

Reconciling Chevron, Mead, And The Review Of Agency Discretion: Source Of Law And The Standards Of Judicial Review, Michael P. Healy

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Although the Supreme Court's watershed decision in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. has been understood by many as defining the framework for judicial review of agency legal determinations, there have been longstanding questions about the application of the standards for reviewing administrative action. These questions have become more troublesome following the Supreme Court's 2001 decision in United States v. Mead Corp. Mead established that Chevron review only applies when defined requirements are met and held that so-called Skidmore deference applies when Chevron deference does not apply. Surveying the aftermath of Mead and its effect on the …

Acting Like An Administrative Agency: The Federal Circuit En Banc, Ryan G. Vacca

Akron Law Faculty Publications

When Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982, it thought it was creating a court of appeals. Little did it know that it was also creating a quasi-administrative agency that would engage in substantive rulemaking and set policy in a manner substantially similar to administrative agencies. In this Article, I examine the Federal Circuit's practices when it orders a case to be heard en banc and illustrate how these practices cause the Federal Circuit to look very much like an administrative agency engaging in substantive rulemaking. The number and breadth of questions the Federal Circuit agrees to hear en banc …

Implied Certification Under The False Claims Act, Gregory Klass, Michael Holt

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The False Claims Act prohibits fraud by government contractors, including a contractor's false certification of compliance with the contract, statutes or regulations. In the early 1990s, some courts began holding that the act of requesting payment from the government implicitly represents such compliance for the purposes the FCA. Circuits are today split on the implied certification doctrine. This Article provides a theory of implied certification, suggests how the circuit split should be resolved and describes how contracting agencies should write contracts in light of the existing rule. There are good reasons for the implied certification rule: it is an information-forcing …

When Delegation Begets Domination: Due Process Of Administrative Lawmaking, Evan J. Criddle

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

State Attorneys General's Use Of Concurrent Public Enforcement Authority In Federal Consumer Protection Laws, Amy Widman, Prentiss Cox

Cardozo Law Review

Recent scholarly and legislative interest in state enforcement of federal law has led to the need for an empirical understanding of how and when these enforcement powers are used. This Article reports on an examination of the use by state attorneys general of sixteen federal consumer protection laws that expressly allow for state enforcement. The data are sorted and analyzed by both single state actions and multistate actions over time, and by the involvement of federal agencies in the state cases. The data reveal a measured use of such powers by state attorneys general and robust state and federal cooperation …

Summary Of City Of North Las Vegas V. State, Emrb, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 57, Colin Seale

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

An appeal of an order denying a petition for judicial review in a local government employment matter.

Cityland – Vol. 8, No. 8, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2011

This issue of CityLand highlights key land use and zoning developments in New York City as of September 15, 2011. The City Council approved Ocean Dreams, a 415-unit mixed-use development along Coney Island’s boardwalk, and a two-building project in Harlem that includes 100 affordable apartments. The City Planning Commission reviewed a contextual rezoning for 181 blocks in the Williamsbridge and Baychester neighborhoods of the Bronx. The Department of City Planning launched ZoLa, a new online mapping tool for zoning and land use information. The Board of Standards & Appeals granted variances for projects in the Lower East Side and Van …

Appeal No. 0834: Maverick Oil & Gas, Inc. V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2010-40 & 2011-05

Appeal No. 0833: Maverick Oil & Gas, Inc. V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2010-40 & 2011-05

A Tale Of Two Climate Cases, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

In July 2004, eight states, the City of New York, and a number of conservation organizations filed suit against several of the nation’s largest electric power producers, alleging that the power companies’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributed to the public nuisance of global warming under federal common law. Simultaneously, several of the same states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging that GHG emissions constituted “pollutants” subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Both cases sought to impose GHG emission controls, and both were a reaction to the federal government’s steadfast refusal to adopt such policies on …

Off-Label Promotion Reform: A Legislative Proposal Addressing Vulnerable Patient Drug Access And Limiting Inappropriate Pharmaceutical Marketing, Tim Mackey, Bryan A. Liang

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Off-label promotion occurs when pharmaceutical manufacturers engage in promotion of unapproved or "off-label" uses of their drugs. These off label uses may lack adequate clinical data to substantiate marketing claims, have led to corporate investigations and penalties, and can endanger public health. However there is adequate evidence to suggest that off-label uses are entirely appropriate for some vulnerable patient populations, and that physicians have accepted such uses as standard. Historically, U.S. law has prohibited direct off-label promotion to physicians and patients. However, failed government guidance, industry-based litigation, and the diminished capacity of regulators to police illegal practices have had dire …

Zoning Finality: Reconceptualizing Res Judicata Doctrine In Land Use Cases, Stewart E. Sterk, Kimberly J. Brunelle

Articles

Zoning disputes provide many Americans with their only firsthand exposure to the workings of democratic government. Land use issues trigger participation because neighbors perceive the wrong kind of development as posing a double-barreled threat to the stability of the community in which they have chosen to live and to the economic value of their homes.

New Light On Auer/Seminole Rock Deference, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

We have been engaged in an extended exploration of doctrines under which courts may defer to positions and interpretations by state and local tax agencies. The immediately prior installment of this column discusses such deference under state equivalents of what is known as the Auer or Seminole Rock principle, under which courts usually defer to agency interpretations of the agencies’ own ambiguous regulations.

About two weeks after the publication of that installment, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a major new decision on the Auer principle: Talk America, Inc. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. Talk America bids fair to be …

Cityland – Vol. 8, No. 7, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2011

This issue of CityLand covers major land use and zoning developments in New York City as of August 15, 2011. The City Council approved a reduction in parking requirements for the Gotham Center project in Long Island City and modified a rezoning proposal in Williamsburg to allow Teddy’s Bar and Grill to reestablish its sidewalk café. A commercial overlay was approved in Whitestone to facilitate a TD Bank branch, despite community concerns. The City Planning Commission reviewed proposals for a contextual rezoning in Boerum Hill, a large-scale retail development in Gravesend Bay, and a mixed-use project in Harlem. The Board …

13th Annual Open Government Summit: Access To Public Records Act & Open Meetings Act, 2011, Department Of Attorney General, State Of Rhode Island

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Let Presidential Hopefuls Have Their Say, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The announcement by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) of the prospective candidates who have been issued certificates of eligibility for the 2011 presidential election in Singapore makes interesting reading for what it does and does not say. The Committee’s decision-making process is also fairly opaque. It is submitted the rules governing the PEC’s task should be reviewed before the next election. At least, it is hoped future Committees will adopt as constitutional conventions the practices of granting hearings to applicants, announcing decisions well ahead of nomination day, and issuing full reasons.

The Regrettable Clause: United States V. Comstock And The Powers Of Congress, H. Jefferson Powell

San Diego Law Review

In this Article, I argue that in Comstock, the Court encountered one of the oldest and most basic constitutional issues about the scope of congressional power--whether there are justiciable limits to the range of legitimate ends Congress may pursue. The Justices, without fully recognizing the fact, were taking sides in an ancient debate, and in doing so, they inadvertently reopened an issue that ought to be deemed long settled.