Administrative Law

ABA president says Trump order could politicize the process of hiring administrative law judges

Updated: ABA President Hilarie Bass says President Donald Trump’s executive order eliminating the competitive hiring process for administrative law judges is “ill-considered and legally vulnerable.”

Jul 16, 2018 2:54 PM CDT

Kavanaugh praised Rehnquist’s stand against unenumerated rights in Roe v. Wade dissent

The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was Brett Kavanaugh’s “first judicial hero,” the Supreme Court nominee said in a Constitution Day speech last September. Kavanaugh praised Rehnquist for taking a stand against unenumerated rights in the Constitution in his Roe v. Wade dissent, for his law-and-order limits on the…

Jul 12, 2018 12:33 PM CDT

Trump tosses hiring process for administrative law judges, gives agency chiefs selection power

Updated: President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order eliminating the exam and competitive hiring process for administrative law judges.

Jul 11, 2018 10:58 AM CDT

Meet Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court

Judge Brett Kavanaugh explained his judicial philosophy when he accepted President Donald Trump’s nomination Monday evening to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jul 10, 2018 9:10 AM CDT

Judge orders stop to blanket detention of asylum seekers at 5 locations

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has temporarily barred blanket detentions of people seeking asylum based on a credible fear of persecution in their home countries.

Jul 3, 2018 12:55 PM CDT

Boies Schiller lawyer sues for documents related to Andrew McCabe’s firing

A lawyer for Andrew McCabe filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to obtain documents related to the former deputy FBI director's firing in March.

Jun 13, 2018 9:02 AM CDT

UN human rights office calls on Trump administration to stop separating immigrant families

The office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights has called on the United States to immediately stop its practice of separating families at the border, calling it “a serious violation of the rights of the child.”

Jun 5, 2018 3:58 PM CDT

Judges and the administrative state

The term “administrative state,” or the more pejorative term “deep state” are trending concepts that conjure up images of conspiracies and government bureaucrats run amok.

May 9, 2018 8:30 AM CDT

Judicial independence and accountability in administrative law

The administrative law judiciary, both state and federal, has a greater need to demonstrate its judicial independence than the judicial branch because there have been long-held perceptions by segments of the public, that administrative law adjudicators—who are designated as “ALJs,” “hearing officers,” or “hearing examiners”—are too cozy with the agencies whose cases they hear.

Apr 26, 2018 8:30 AM CDT

A third federal judge rules against DACA phaseout, but goes further than two previous judges

A third federal judge has ruled against the phaseout of a program protecting immigrants brought to the country illegally as minors, but he has gone further to protect the program than the two other judges. Previous rulings required the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to accept applications for renewal of…

Apr 25, 2018 8:54 AM CDT

New judicial litmus test, used to select Gorsuch, aims to shrink the ‘administrative state’

Past Republican administrations have employed an unspoken litmus test on judicial picks. The judges had to be anti-abortion or they had to have conservative views on social issues. But the Trump administration has a new litmus test: whether the judges will help tame the “administrative state,” the New York Times…

Mar 28, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

California suit says census citizenship question violates enumeration clause

Some state attorneys general reacted quickly after the Trump administration announced late Monday that it was adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a federal lawsuit Monday night and linked to a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed he co-wrote that called the idea of…

Mar 27, 2018 11:37 AM CDT

Political lawsuits bring the Administrative Procedure Act to the forefront

The Administrative Procedure Act, a little-noticed federal law regarding how government agencies may enact rules, is gaining currency because of its use in lawsuits against the Trump administration, NBC News reports.

Mar 5, 2018 3:18 PM CST

Abuses revealed of watchdog public-records laws

State freedom of information laws are intended to allow citizens to keep tabs on their governments. While they expose wrongdoing, mismanagement, reckless spending and even scandal, they also can be abused.

Mar 1, 2018 2:25 AM CST

Same-sex couple sues federally funded refugee adoption agency for discrimination

A law professor and her wife have sued the federal government, alleging that a federally funded child services agency refused to consider placing a child with them because they don’t “mirror the Holy Family.” CNN and NBC have stories. Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin of Texas wanted to foster a…

Feb 23, 2018 2:25 PM CST