Introduction Imagine that the electronics firm Persimmon, Inc. begins selling a new fitness tracker that it calls ActivTrak. The firm is trying to enter a crowded market for consumer electronics, and it has some new technology that it hopes will set its ActivTrak device apart. Persimmon spends substantial sums of money advertising its device on […] Continue Reading >
Introduction The nondelegation doctrine is alive and well at the local level, but no one quite knows why. Reported decisions abound with judicial declarations that local legislatures may not delegate “discretionary” or “policymaking” authority to local executives. “It is axiomatic,” intoned the Missouri Supreme Court, striking down the St. Louis city council’s delegation of fee-setting […] Continue Reading >
Introduction The “major questions” doctrine has become a fixture of federal administrative law. It lays down the principle that an agency action of vast “economic and political significance” must be grounded in “clear congressional authorization.”[1] The Supreme Court has lately invoked this doctrine to invalidate sweeping regulatory initiatives, such as the EPA’s Clean Power Plan,[2] […] Continue Reading >