In the Courts - OMB Watch

In the Courts: News Blog

News

High Court Expands Federal Preemption in Medical Cases 03/04/2008
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a series of cases that addresses the issue of whether federal agency approval of medical devices and drugs shields manufacturers of those products from liability under state laws. In a case decided Feb. 20, the Court held that federal law preempts state liability claims if certain medical devices received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The Court also considered if that same protection should be extended to drug manufacturers. Read More

EPA Denies State Efforts to Curb Global Warming 01/08/2008
The Bush administration rejected an attempt by California and several other states to combat global warming by placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Stephen Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the decision Dec. 19, 2007. Environmental advocates and members of Congress have sharply criticized the decision, and several states have already filed suit in federal court hoping to overturn it. Read More

A Year for Failure: Regulatory Policy News in 2007 12/18/2007
In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy this year: an increase in White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion, which added a perception of more political manipulation; the inability of the federal government to protect the public by ensuring the safety of imported goods; the voice of some industry groups calling for regulation; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, as in the case of climate change. At best, government has attempted to respond to crises instead of getting ahead of the curve. This has left the public uncertain about whether we can count on our government to provide adequate safeguards. Read More

Bush Fuel Economy Measure Rejected by Court 11/20/2007
A U.S. court of appeals has overturned a recent National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule that revised a national standard for fuel economy. Environmentalists hailed the ruling as a victory and framed it as condemnation of the Bush administration's record on fuel economy and global warming. Read More

Courts Rebuke Bush Administration's Forest Actions 04/17/2007
On April 6, the Bush administration appealed the first of two recent federal district court decisions that held the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act when it overturned the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and rewrote forest management plans. Read More

Congress to Limit Public Participation in Forest Service Decisions 07/11/2006
After courts in California and Montana struck down Forest Service rules that limited public participation in certain logging decisions, the Senate has added language to an appropriations bill that would reinstate those rules. Read More

Regulatory Year in Review: 2005 12/13/2005
A round-up of the key developments in regulatory policy we have covered in 2005. Read More

Administration Ignores Scientific Evidence and Pushes Forward with Mountaintop Removal 11/15/2005
A long-anticipated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the mountaintop mining waste disposal process ignores scientific evidence in order to validate the waste disposal method preferred by industry and the administration. Read More

Cases Before High Court Could Redefine Limits of Federal Power to Protect Public 10/18/2005
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review two Clean Water Act cases that could prompt yet another examination of the limits of Congress' power to protect the public. Read More

Roberts Showed Prudence in Reg Reform Initiative 09/06/2005
Although Supreme Court chief justice nominee John Roberts worked for an administration generally hostile to regulation, documents released by the Reagan Library from his time as White House counsel reveal that he raised considerable objections to at least one of the period’s far-reaching regulatory "reform" proposals. Read More

Appeals Court Rejects Right of Action in Open Government Law 03/21/2005
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), an open government statute designed to guarantee that committees advising federal agencies are not biased, does not create a private right of action. Read More

Bush Renominates Industry-Backed Radical Right-wingers to Federal Bench 01/10/2005
Just two days before Christmas, the White House announced its intention to renominate to the federal bench 20 radical right-wing and corporate-friendly extremists whose nominations had been thwarted in the 108th Congress. Read More

Second Court Rules Data Quality Act Not Judicially Reviewable 12/01/2004
The second federal court to address judicial reviewability of the Data Quality Act (DQA) and its subsequent guidelines has found that neither the DQA nor the Administrative Procedure Act permits judicial review. Read More

NPS Fails to Address Species Impacts of Snowmobile Trails 11/15/2004
In the aftermath of two court rulings rejecting rulemakings on winter use plans for Yellowstone, the National Park Service is once again being challenged in court for failing to consider the effects on bison populations of winter use plans that accommodate snowmobile use. Read More

Court Rejects Ban on Snowmobiles in Yellowstone 11/01/2004
Rejecting a National Park Service ban on recreational snowmobile use in the Yellowstone area as a “predetermined political decision,” a federal court in Wyoming found that the Clinton-era snowmobile ban violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. Read More

Partisan Patterns Detected in Civil Rights, Environment Decisions 10/18/2004
Federal judges appointed by Republican administrations -- and the Bush administration in particular -- are expressing, through decisions and dissents, a marked bias against civil rights, environmental, and other public interest litigation, according to two new reports. Read More

Court Declines to Bar Regionally Restricted Vehicle Recalls 10/04/2004
The agency charged with keeping motor vehicles safe and reliable has been allowing automakers to restrict vehicle defect recalls to selected states rather than conduct recalls nationwide. Now a federal court has declined to bar such regionally restricted recalls. Read More

Nuclear Commission Avoids Accountability in Secret Rule Change 09/21/2004
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission illegally issued new orders, without opportunity for public participation, that secretly change terrorism preparedness requirements for nuclear facilities, according to a challenge filed by two citizen groups and recently argued in a federal appeals court. Read More

Court Rejects Cost Considerations in Clean Air Act ... Almost 08/09/2004
In a confusing opinion, the D.C. Circuit has rejected a rule that would have allowed the use of two ozone-depleting chemicals in certain circumstances despite the designation of a non-depleting alternative. Although the decision was based in part on the improper consideration of costs to industry, the court nonetheless declined to make a definitive holding on the permissibility of cost considerations in the disputed section of the Clean Air Act. Read More

Court Rejects Agency Reasons for Trucker Hours Rule, Calls Arguments 'Troubling' 07/26/2004
In a stinging rebuke, an appeals court rejected a change to regulations limiting the daily and weekly number of hours that truckers can work without rest breaks. Although the court based its decision on the agency's failure to consider a statutorily mandated factor, it also identified weaknesses in several arguments commonly raised to block regulation, repeatedly calling the arguments "troubling." Read More

Court Rejects Claim in First Decision on Data Quality Act 06/28/2004
In the first ever court decision to address the Data Quality Act, a federal district court in Minnesota has held that the Act does not permit petitioners to seek judicial review. Read More

Mexican Trucks Allowed to Run Over Environmental Law 06/14/2004
A unanimous Supreme Court has held that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) did not violate U.S. environmental law by failing to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) of increased pollution from allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States beyond limited border zones.
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Supreme Court Decides EPA Can Overrule State Air Permits 01/26/2004
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Jan. 21 that EPA has authority to overrule a state construction permit that, as judged by the agency, violates air quality standards. Read More

Court Overturns Bush Rollback of Air Conditioner Efficiency Standards 01/26/2004
A federal appeals court overturned a Bush rollback of air conditioner efficiency standards, finding that it violated the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, which prohibits such backsliding. Read More

Court Blocks Bush Rollback of Power-Plant Emissions Standards 01/12/2004
A day before Christmas, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Bush administration from implementing a major rollback of clean air standards, which would have allowed the nation’s oldest and dirtiest power plants to upgrade their facilities without installing the latest anti-pollution controls (as they were previously required to do under EPA’s New Source Review program) -- even if it results in substantial new emissions. Read More

Judge Rejects Bush Plan to Allow Snowmobiles in Yellowstone 01/12/2004
A federal judge strongly rebuked the Bush administration on Dec. 16 for rescinding a Clinton-era plan to phase out snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Read More

Federal Judge Rebukes Bush Administration's Hard-Rock Mining Rules 12/02/2003
A federal judge recently instructed the Interior Department to rewrite part of its new hard-rock mining rules after finding that mining companies are not being required to pay fair market value for use of public lands. The judge criticized the Bush administration’s overall interpretation of federal law on hard-rock mining, but stopped short of striking down the rules, stating that he did not have legal grounds to do so. Read More

Administration Challenged on Clean Air Rollback 11/03/2003
Attorneys general from 12 states and the District of Columbia recently filed a lawsuit challenging a major rollback of the nation’s clean air standards that will allow increased pollution from the oldest and dirtiest power plants. A coalition of conservation and public health organizations has filed suit as well. Read More

Court Rejects Tire Pressure Monitoring Rule as Too Weak 08/11/2003
A federal appeals court recently rejected a weak standard, issued by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), to guard against under-inflated tires, calling it “contrary to the law and arbitrary and capricious.” Read More

Roadless Rule Struck Down (Again) 07/28/2003
A federal district court in Wyoming recently struck down the Clinton-era roadless rule, which protects 58.5 million acres of pristine U.S. Forest Service lands from logging and development -- the latest in a series of court decisions concerning the measure. Read More