Featured Posts
Bloomberg Law
Trump’s Plan to Control More Civil Servants Disrupts Opposition
Bloomberg Law cites CEI’s Devin Watkins on Trump’s civil service overhaul. Trump’s civil service overhaul could still be challenged in court once the OPM finalizes…
Blog
Presidential discretion allowed by the Impoundment Control Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) publishing my paper this week about the possible constitutional arguments against the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This…
The Daily Economy
Federal Agencies Stack Their Courts Against You
Winning a case against the federal government is difficult. Most federal agencies are well represented by an army of skilled attorneys. The Department of Justice…
Search Posts
Study
Five Myths of Civil Forfeiture
Executive Summary Every year, federal, state, and local government agents take—and permanently keep—billions of dollars of Americans’ property through civil forfeiture. The practice of civil…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Ensures People Can Challenge Agency Authority in Court
The Supreme Court ruled today that regulatory agency tribunals do not have any special expertise in deciding constitutional law questions; therefore, district courts can hear…
Blog
Legislation Introduced to Curb Federal Forfeiture
Earlier this month, Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Restoration Act (FAIR) Act. This measure is aimed at curbing federal forfeiture…
Blog
What Are Administrative Law Courts? Why Do They Matter?
The judicial branch is presumably an independent branch of government, alongside the legislative and executive branches. But many regulatory agencies have their own in-house court…
News Release
Washington Couple Challenging Federal Shareholder Tax Petition Supreme Court to Take Up Their Case
Kathleen and Charles Moore, a Washington state couple challenging a 2017 tax on their shares in a foreign company, petitioned the Supreme Court today…
Blog
Kathleen and Charles Moore Prepare to take their Fight Against Taxing Unrealized Gains to Supreme Court
In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The new law was a reform of the federal tax code, but also included a…
Testimony
Written testimony on amendment to HB 593 (forfeiture reform)
In the statement below, I discuss several ways that the proposed amendment to HB 593 will improve New Hampshire’s justice system. The House Committee on…
News Release
New Video: Kathleen and Charles Moore on Why the Supreme Court Should Hear their Challenge to Tax on Unrealized Gains
“If you haven’t received any income, how can you be required to pay income taxes?” The question, asked by Charles Moore in a new…
Study
Memoirs of a Prosecutor
Foreword Viewers who have seen the classic TV detective show Dragnet will recall the lines that introduced each episode: “The story you are about to…
News Release
CEI Seeks Court Order on National Climate Task Force Records
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sought a court order to preserve relevant documents and other materials from the White House’s National Climate Task…
Citation
Radio: Dan Greenberg Joins Eric Boehm
CEI General Counsel Dan Greenberg joins Eric Boehm at American Radio Journal to discuss Tyler v. Hennepin County.
Inside Sources
Don’t Believe the Government’s Talking Points about Civil Asset Forfeiture
Every year, federal, state and local government agents take — and permanently keep — billions of dollars of Americans’ property through a practice known as…
News Release
Court Rules VA Attorney General Must Turn Over Emails Related to “Law Enforcement for Rent” Scheme
A Circuit Court in Richmond, VA on Tuesday ordered the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Virginia to conduct a proper search for…
News Release
Report: Government Seizes Billions in Private Property, but Citizens Have Little Recourse
Every year, federal, state, and local government agents take and permanently keep, collectively, billions of dollars of Americans’ property through a practice called civil forfeiture,…
Study
Five Myths of Civil Forfeiture
Executive Summary Every year, federal, state, and local government agents take—and permanently keep—billions of dollars of Americans’ property through civil forfeiture. The practice of civil…
Legal Brief
Brief of Amicus Curiae – Case No. 22-60008
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Case No. 22-60008 Consumers’ Research, et al., v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., Brief of…
News Release
Judge Rejects CDC’s Unfounded Mask Mandate for Travel
U.S. District Court Judge Mizelle today vacated the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mask mandate for public transit, such as airports, train stations, airplanes,…
E&E News
Inside a Legal Doctrine that Could Derail Biden Climate Regs
E&E News cites CEI Attorney Devin Watkins on the EPA’s new legislation outlining vehicle emissions standards: As in the Supreme Court…
Business Insider
Biden’s Billionaire Tax Would Work a Lot Like the Withholding You See on Your Paycheck
Business Insider cites CEI President Kent Lassman on Biden’s proposed “billionaire tax” in the release budget for fiscal year 2023: “What’s a…
Reuters
Ethanol Producers, 16 States Challenge EPA U.S. Vehicle Rules
Reuters cites CEI’s court petition challenging the new EPA vehicle emissions rule: The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Domestic Energy Producers Alliance also…
E&E News
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Limit EPA Power Plant Oversight
E&E News cites Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis, Jr. on the new EPA regulatory power: Marlo Lewis, a senior fellow at the Competitive…
E&E News
The Case that Could Change Climate Regulation as We Know It
E&E News cites Senior Fellow Mario Loyola on how Congress needs to use specific language when creating regulatory powers: But Mario Loyola,…
City Journal
An Affirmative Action Endgame?
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases challenging racial preferences in university admissions. It’s an important move that could pave the way toward…
News Release
Constitutional Challenge to Trump Tax Repatriation Law to be Argued Tomorrow in Ninth Circuit
On Friday, January 14, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear a constitutional challenge to a provision in the 2017 federal tax reform…
Blog
This Week’s Outrage (which Touches on Civil Asset Forfeiture)
Last month, The New York Times reported on the way that law enforcement officers take money from the rest of us. I’ve been alternately…
National Review
Unite and Get Ready to Fight
The Wall Street Journal recently ran one of those opinion pieces you know you’ll remember years later. In “The Impossible Insurrection of January…
Blog
The “Public Nuisance” Theory of Pharmaceutical Liability for the Opioids Crisis Is … a Public Nuisance
The jury in a federal court in Ohio has found three major pharmacy chains—CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens—liable for the opioids crisis in two plaintiff…
The Washington Examiner
The death of democracy
Repost: Michael Pack’s piece at the Washington Examiner, as part of their Restoring America Project I have witnessed the death…
National Review
Ending the Epidemic of Public-Nuisance Litigation
The opioid crisis has spawned a rash of litigation, with thousands of pending state and federal cases threatening to penalize legitimate prescription…
News Release
Court Blocks Enforcement of Biden/OSHA Vaccine Mandate Citing Serious Flaws
Statement by Devin Watkins, CEI attorney: “The Fifth Circuit’s decision to temporarily block enforcement of the OSHA vaccine mandate on Saturday is a win…
National Review
A Preemptive Attack on the Supreme Court
America’s progressives have spent most of the past year wailing about people who undermine faith in democratic institutions. “Misinformation” that casts doubt on the election of…
News Release
Supreme Court Strikes Down CDC Eviction Moratorium, Upholds Rule of Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the nationwide eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control, which was ostensibly aimed at…
News Release
CDC Eviction Moratorium Back In Court After Biden Defies Supreme Court Ruling
On the heels of the CDC extending its eviction moratorium at the behest of the Biden administration, a group of realtor plaintiffs have asked the…
Blog
CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Extension Another Example of Ends-Justify-the-Means Policy
The Constitution requires all of Congress and the president to swear to uphold the Constitution. Yet, too often today, public officials of both parties ignore…
News Release
Everyone Loses in CDC Eviction Ban
In the wake of court rulings against the Centers for Disease Control nationwide eviction ban, the White House today called on Congress to pass an…
News Release
DC Superior Court Rules in Favor of CEI in Michael Mann Lawsuit
Today the Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued a decision granting CEI’s motion for summary judgment in a defamation lawsuit brought by climate…
The Daily Press
Moderate Decisions Could Prompt GOP to Rethink Court Nominations
Justice Amy Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would spell doom for the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, and the 2015 Obergefell ruling on…
The Kansas City Star
The Right Finally Got the Supreme Court it Used to Want — But That’s Changed Now
Justice Amy Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would spell doom for the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade and the 2015 Obergefell ruling on…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in California Donor Disclosure Case Protects Right of Association
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled against California’s law requiring charitable organizations to disclose the identities of their major donors to the attorney general’s office.
NPR
The Supreme Court Throws Out a State Law Requiring Nonprofits to Name Rich Donors
NPR cites attorney Devin Watkins on the Supreme Court’s ruling against California’s law requiring charitable organizations to disclose the identities of their major donors to…
National Review
Missouri Defies the Feds on Gun Control
“Let the good of the people be the supreme law,” reads Missouri’s state motto. Sounds nice, but under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, it’s federal…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in Fannie/Freddie Case – Helpful on Questions of Presidential Removal Powers, Unhelpful to Shareholders
Today, the Supreme Court ruled on a much-anticipated case related to the federal government policy of seizing the net profits for government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae…
Blog
Supreme Court Requires Involvement of Principal Officers Before Final Decisions
Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Arthrex that has massive implications for the limits on the administrative state. It…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Could Impact Who Wields Government Regulatory Powers
The Supreme Court today ruled in United States v. Arthrex, Inc. that Administrative Patent Judges, in order to exercise unreviewable executive power, must be principal…
Letters
CEI Joins TPA Led Coalition Calling for IRS Investigation
Dear Senator, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing taxpayers, consumers, and free market advocates across the nation, we write to urge you to launch…
The Washington Times
Appeals Court Upholds Federal Eviction Moratorium
The Washington Times cites attorney Devin Watkins on an eviction moratorium issued by the CDC: Devin Watkins, an attorney with the Competitive…
News Release
Supreme Court Should Decide on CDC Eviction Ban
Today a federal appeals court denied a request by landlords to resume evictions, leaving in place a temporary, nationwide eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers…
The Washington Times
Biden Climate Task Force Ignored Open-Records Request, Think Tank Claims In Lawsuit
The Washington Times cites CEI’s recent lawsuit: The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to force President Biden’s newly…
News Release
Lawsuit Challenges Biden’s National Climate Task Force’s Defiance of Freedom of Information Act
A new lawsuit by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) seeks to subject President Biden’s National Climate Task Force to the federal Freedom of Information…
The Washington Times
CDC Lacked Authority To Halt Evictions, Judge Rules
The Washington Times cites attorney Devin Watkins on the CDC and a nationwide eviction moratorium: Devin Watkins, an attorney for the Competitive…
