Obama v. BP and the Law

Josh Gerstein at Politico points out the legal weaknesses in the White House's plan to force BP to pay for lost wages as a result of the WH's sixth month drilling moratorium. Article here. WSJ had a similar article on Wednesday. 

Call For Submissions to the Yale Law & Policy Review Symposium On Net Neutrality.

Special Announcement From Friends at Yale:

The Yale Law & Policy Review has launched Inter Alia, an online companion to the print version of YLPR. The purpose of this site is to serve as a cutting-edge forum for shorter, more informal legal scholarship at the intersection of law and policy that can be published more quickly than in our traditional format as well as a repository for current information on the issues that YLPR highlights in its pages.

We invite you to submit pieces for our latest Symposium, on the topic of Network Neutrality.

Mauro on Bork, Upcoming Georgetown Law Event

Tony Mauro from National Law Journal recounts his experience interviewing Judge Bork before his confirmation hearings here.

Mauro will also be participating in a Supreme Court term review event at Georgetown Law on July 7:

"Join veteran Supreme Court correspondent Tony Mauro and four top practitioners on July 7 at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington for a discussion of Supreme Court's latest term. Our panel includes lawyers who argued before the court during the 2009-10 session. They'll discuss the institution, top cases and the experience of preparing arguments and appearing before the justices. Panelists include: Michael Carvin, Jones Day partner; Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben; Catholic University law professor Amanda Cohen Leiter; and Sri Srinivasan, O'Melveny & Myers partner. The discussion begins at 3:30 p.m., followed by a wine and cheese reception at 5 p.m." Register online.

The Case for Fiscal Federalism

Veronique de Rugy and Stefanie Haeffele-Bach have published a very short and important paper on fiscal federalism at Mercatus.

The consequences of the federal government's pervasive funding of state governments are simple: "Instead of competing for residents, states are competing for central government funding and privileges. Such activity breeds wasteful spending and rent-seeking, which are drains on the welfare of American society." California is a perfect example of this problem. The state can bestow lavish public benefits on its citizens and then send the bill to citizens of other states via Washington D.C. In this sense, California is competing for citizens not by prudent fiscal policy, but by costly state giveaways to targeted groups. Our federal system of government should not support such behavior.

For more, Cato has a section on fiscal federalism in its most recent "Handbook for Policymakers."

E.J. Dionne, Constitutional Scholar

Dionne praises retired Justice Souter's remarks at Harvard on the evils of originalism in this morning's Washington Post. Souter's speech is not as revolutionary as Dionne lets on. Many of the same points, especially the Brown v. Board argument have been raised elsewhere and directly challenged. Interestingly, one of Souter's former clerks has written, "Make no mistake: The best originalist on the Supreme Court is not Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas, but David Souter." If Souter's speech proves anything, it is that his judicial philosophy will continue to vex both conservatives and liberals well into the future. 

$20m Donation for New York Law School (not NYU)

Former AIG Chairman and CEO, and NYLS alum, Hank Greenberg is donating $20m to the school through the Starr Foundation. Details here. The National Law Journal reports that the gift is one of the biggest 20 law school donations of all time.

Georgetown Federalist Society Lifetime Service Award

Back in April, the Georgetown Federalist Society honored Richard Epstein with our Seventh Annual Lifetime Service Award. His speech from the award ceremony was posted last week on Youtube here. Professor Epstein's remarks will also be published in the forthcoming issue of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Clarence Thomas, Mr. Popular

Most Americans cannot name a single justice on the Supreme Court. Thomas (19%) and Roberts (16%) are the most well-known according to this survey.

Chicago Handgun Ordinance Violator Protects Family

Interesting handgun story out of Chicago as we await the Court's decision in McDonald.


The article from Real Clear Politics is here.

Property Rights Victory in Ninth Circuit Comes Under Fire

Slate published a lengthy attack on Ninth Circuit judge Jay Bybee and his recent decision in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta which found a city rent control ordinance for trailer parks violated the Fifth Amendment's takings clause. The article's authors filed amicus briefs for the city and are the president and chief counsel of the progressive Constitutional Accountability Center. The case was decided in September but the Ninth Circuit agreed in March to rehear the case en banc. As it stands now, the case is a big win for defenders of property rights, so the rehearing will be watched closely.

The Slate article is here.
The full opinion in the case is here.
Professor Richard Epstein has his say here.

D.C. Lawyers Chapter Lunch with Hon. Anne M. Northup

The Washington, D.C. Lawyers Chapter monthly luncheon on June 11 will feature Anne M. Northup, Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The event topic is "How the Expansion of Regulation Chokes Economic Growth and Opportunity."

Event Details and Registration Info can be found here.

Biographical Information can be found here.

New Media & The Law Event at GULC

On Wednesday, September 23, the Georgetown Federalist Society will be hosting a panel event on New Media & The Law at 7 PM in Hart Auditorium.

The panel will feature David Lat from Above the Law, Tony Mauro from the National Law Journal, and Matt Welch from Reason Magazine. Eileen O’Connor, adjunct professor at Georgetown and former reporter and bureau chief at CNN, will moderate.

The event will be followed by a reception.

Come one, come all!

The Federalists were a Bunch of Old White Guys, The Federalist Society is Not

Georgetown Federalist Society President Eka Akpakip has submitted an article about the Society to the Georgetown Law Weekly. Text of the article can be found below the fold...

Professor Nicholas Rosenkranz to Testify re: Sotomayor

Be sure to tune in to the Sotomayor hearings this Thursday. Georgetown Federalist Society faculty adviser Professor Nicholas Rosenkranz will be testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the role of a judge.

For more information about Professor Rosenkranz, take a look at his bio here.