The Ninth Circuit held that California's commercial fishing fees for nonresidents violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution. California's commercial fishing license fees are significantly higher for out-of-state fishers than for residents. For example, California residen...

The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's continued authorization of a 6-foot-tall Jesus statue on national forest land overlooking a northwestern Montana ski resort does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The statue, known as "Big Mountain Jesus," was placed ...

The D.C. Circuit reaffirmed its prior decision that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) "conflict materials" rule violates the First Amendment. SEC issued the rule in 2012 pursuant to §1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires SEC to issue re...

The Tenth Circuit upheld on constitutional grounds Colorado's mandate that 20% of the electricity that generators sell to Colorado consumers come from renewable sources. A conservative energy group claimed that the renewable energy standard will harm out-of-state coal producers in violation of the C...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that a USDA marketing order under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 requiring raisin producers to participate in a raisin reserve program violates the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against taking property without just compensation. Under the marketing order...

The First Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit concerning a proposed offshore wind power generation facility in Nantucket Sound. Opponents of the facility—a town, an advocacy group, and several individuals and businesses in the area—sought to nullify the state's approval ...

The Federal Circuit upheld a lower court decision dismissing on jurisdictional grounds a landowner's Fifth Amendment takings claim against the government in connection with a CWA permit denial. The lower court held that the complaint was barred by 28 U.S.C. §1500, which prohibits the U.S. Court of ...

The Supreme Court of Texas held that courts may consider all relevant circumstantial evidence when granting or denying an expedited motion to dismiss suits that could stifle a defendant's communication on matters of public concern under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA). The case arose aft...

The Federal Claims Court held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' construction, expansions, operation, and failure to maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) caused subsequent storm surge that was exacerbated by a "funnel effect" during Hurricane Katrina and subsequent hurricanes and s...

The D.C. Circuit held that an American corporation owned by Chinese nationals was deprived of its constitutionally protected property interests without due process of law when President Obama issued an order blocking on national security grounds the corporation's windfarm project located near a U.S....