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September 28, 2017|Compacts Clause, Dickie Scruggs, State attorneys general, tort law

Opening Salvos in the Opioid Litigation Wars

by Margaret A. Little|

State attorneys general from 41 of the 50 states are investigating the opioid industry. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he is committed to “using every tool at our disposal” to pursue the $500 billion Big Pharma industry, and has unleashed Martin Act subpoenas upon numerous opioid manufacturers and distributors. The press release put out by the Attorney General of Connecticut, George Jepsen, urges haste:

We recognize that time is our enemy and that we should pursue all means to ease this crisis as quickly as possible. For that reason, we have encouraged and will continue to encourage the pharmaceutical industry – both manufacturers and distributors – to engage constructively with the attorneys general towards meaningful agreements that may be achievable sooner than full-scale investigations and litigation may permit. As we have shown in other contexts, broad coalitions of attorneys general can effectively impact national problems through litigation or settlements, often more effectively than they can when acting alone. Our collective efforts are particularly important at a time when many Americans despair about the capacity of government to function effectively in the face of challenges. (Emphasis added)

Connecticut AG Jepson’s announcement of the meteoric rise in the number of states joining in the investigations, his jab at legislative passivity while flexing that most unlawful of state powers—namely, regulation by litigation—and the anything-but-subtle suggestion of a fast settlement bodes ill for the rule of law.

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May 4, 2017|Federalism, State attorneys general

Ambitious State AGs March On

by Paul Nolette|

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra

A few days after Donald Trump’s inauguration on the opposite coast, Xavier Becerra was sworn in as California’s attorney general. Becerra, who had accepted Governor Brown’s offer to replace now-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, was fresh from Capitol Hill himself, having served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 and rising through the ranks of the Democratic leadership. It might be considered unusual to trade being a mover and shaker in Washington for service in a non-gubernatorial state position. But Becerra understood that being a state AG nowadays affords a prominent voice in national politics. He has since vowed to challenge President Trump at every opportunity, which apparently has already paid dividends for his political future.

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September 22, 2016|

Federalism and State Attorneys General

by Jonathan F. Mitchell|

In response to: Commandeering Federalism: The Rise of the Activist State Attorneys General

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (C) speaks as Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (2nd from R) looks on during a press conference at the office of the New York Attorney General, July 19, 2016 in New York City. They announced lawsuits against Volkswagen AG and its affiliates Audi AG and Porsche AG. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

There are many challenges in designing a federalist system of government. Perhaps the most daunting is how to create incentives for government officials to preserve a regime of state-by-state decisionmaking—especially when constituent pressures, partisan allegiance, or ideological beliefs tug in other directions. The U.S. Constitution tries to preserve state prerogatives by enumerating the powers of the federal government and announcing that all non-enumerated powers are left to the states.[1] But “parchment barriers” of this sort are a weak and ineffective means of preserving state authority. Words are always subject to interpretation, even when government officials are acting in good faith. And…

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More Responses

They’re Not the Main Culprit

by Hans Bader

State attorneys general aren’t ruining federalism. It was already ruined, as Michael Greve’s 2012 classic The Upside Down Constitution chronicles. It is tempting to blame them, given how badly many state attorneys general behave. Some use their office to enrich themselves or their lawyer pals, or to pursue vendettas against adversaries. The attorney general of Pennsylvania,…

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State Attorneys General Didn’t Start the Fire

by Michael Toth

The American form of government, in the classic formulation of Justice Salmon Chase, contemplates “an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States.”[1] The Constitution, apart from assigning specific functions to the federal government, and prohibiting the states from exercising certain powers, largely leaves the determination of public policy to the 50 states. As numerous jurists, statesmen,…

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State Attorneys General Remain Unsteady Allies for Federalism

by Paul Nolette

My thanks to Hans Bader, Michael Toth, and Jonathan F. Mitchell for their thoughtful responses to my essay concerning state attorneys general (AGs) and contemporary American federalism. Each raises good points about the AGs’ various roles in the era of executive federalism that has rapidly expanded during the Obama years. As all three authors note,…

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September 12, 2016|

They’re Not the Main Culprit

by Hans Bader|

In response to: Commandeering Federalism: The Rise of the Activist State Attorneys General

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (C) speaks as Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (2nd from R) looks on during a press conference at the office of the New York Attorney General, July 19, 2016 in New York City. They announced lawsuits against Volkswagen AG and its affiliates Audi AG and Porsche AG. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

State attorneys general aren’t ruining federalism. It was already ruined, as Michael Greve’s 2012 classic The Upside Down Constitution chronicles. It is tempting to blame them, given how badly many state attorneys general behave. Some use their office to enrich themselves or their lawyer pals, or to pursue vendettas against adversaries. The attorney general of Pennsylvania, Kathleen Kane, was recently convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abusing her office in her efforts to retaliate against a political opponent. In earlier times, Texas’s Dan Morales was jailed for mail fraud and tax evasion related to Texas’ multibillion dollar 1998 tobacco settlement.…

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More Responses

State Attorneys General Didn’t Start the Fire

by Michael Toth

The American form of government, in the classic formulation of Justice Salmon Chase, contemplates “an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States.”[1] The Constitution, apart from assigning specific functions to the federal government, and prohibiting the states from exercising certain powers, largely leaves the determination of public policy to the 50 states. As numerous jurists, statesmen,…

Read More

Federalism and State Attorneys General

by Jonathan F. Mitchell

There are many challenges in designing a federalist system of government. Perhaps the most daunting is how to create incentives for government officials to preserve a regime of state-by-state decisionmaking—especially when constituent pressures, partisan allegiance, or ideological beliefs tug in other directions. The U.S. Constitution tries to preserve state prerogatives by enumerating the powers of the…

Read More

State Attorneys General Remain Unsteady Allies for Federalism

by Paul Nolette

My thanks to Hans Bader, Michael Toth, and Jonathan F. Mitchell for their thoughtful responses to my essay concerning state attorneys general (AGs) and contemporary American federalism. Each raises good points about the AGs’ various roles in the era of executive federalism that has rapidly expanded during the Obama years. As all three authors note,…

Read More

September 10, 2015|Administrative Law, Clean Power Plan, EPA, Regulatory State, State attorneys general

State Attorneys General Challenge the EPA’s Clean Power Plan

by Paul Nolette|

Last month, the EPA finalized major new rules requiring carbon dioxide reductions across the energy-generating industry. The rules require power plants to reduce emissions levels to 32% below their 2005 levels in the next fifteen years, and it is part of the administration’s attempt to force plants to shift from coal to wind and solar energy. President Obama views the new rules as a crucial part of his environmental legacy; he introduced his “Clean Power Plan” (CPP) as “the single most important step America has ever taken in the fight against global “climate change.”

The new rules are big, they are complex – but we’ve seen the basic story of what the administration is doing here before. In various areas of environmental policy, along with several other policy areas as well – most notably with immigration, health care, and financial regulation – the president has directed agencies to do through administrative edict what could not be accomplished through Congress. Think of the CPP as the failed cap-and-trade bill, take two – only now announced through the executive branch, rather than enacted through the legislature.

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April 15, 2015|Federalism, Federalism on Trial, Paul Nolette, pharmaceutical drugs, State attorneys general, Tobacco industry

Roving Bandits: A Discussion with Paul Nolette on the Power Wielded by State Attorneys General

by Paul Nolette|

Paul Nolette comes to Liberty Law Talk to discuss his book Federalism on Trial, which demonstrates how state attorneys general quietly became significant national policymakers. What was once a rather staid position in state government has become the source of entirely new regimes of conduct impressed on companies and industries. Incredible evidence of this legal revolution can be seen in the Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco industry, which, courtesy of the attorneys general, sent $200 billion to the states and negotiated an entirely new cartel for the industry without a single vote in Congress. While some attorneys general have challenged…

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March 31, 2015|Federalism, Massachusetts v. EPA, Master Settlement Agreement, regulation, State attorneys general

Generals of Regulation

by Paul Nolette|

Tutela legale, giustizia, avvocato, legge

Over the past few years, state attorneys general have brought dozens of lawsuits challenging the Obama Administration’s regulatory initiatives. In addition to leading constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act, AGs have sued to block new environmental regulations, implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial law, and a host of other federal policies. For those concerned about the size and scope of federal power, this is a welcome development. Who is better positioned than the states’ top litigators to use law as a bulwark to protect the rights of states against an expanding federal government?

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December 22, 2014|State attorneys general, trial lawyers

State Attorneys General Make It Rain

by Michael S. Greve|

Since my last post on state attorneys general George Will has chimed in on Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and his leadership role in reviving federalism. And The New York Times has published an extended piece on the joined-at-the-hip connections between Democratic state AGs and the trial bar. Plaintiffs’ lawyers peddle cases against this, that, and the other industry to state AGs, who then sue and cut the trial lawyers in on the proceeds. A portion of those proceeds in turn ends up in the AGs’ campaign coffers. Amazing stuff.

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Book Reviews

A Mirror of the 20th-Century Congress

by Joseph Postell

Wright undermined the very basis of his local popularity—the decentralized nature of the House—by supporting reforms that gave power to the party leaders.

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The Graces of Flannery O'Connor

by Henry T. Edmondson III

O'Connor's correspondence is a goldmine of piercing insight and startling reflections on everything from literature to philosophy to raising peacocks.

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Liberty Classics

Rereading Politica in the Post-Liberal Moment

by Glenn A. Moots

Althusius offers a rich constitutionalism that empowers persons to thrive alongside one another in deliberate communities.

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James Fenimore Cooper and the American Experiment

by Melissa Matthes

In The American Democrat, James Fenimore Cooper defended democracy against both mob rule and majority tyranny.

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Podcasts

Stuck With Decadence

A discussion with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat discusses with Richard Reinsch his new book The Decadent Society.

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Can the Postmodern Natural Law Remedy Our Failing Humanism?

A discussion with Graham McAleer

Graham McAleer discusses how postmodern natural law can help us think more coherently about human beings and our actions.

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Did the Civil Rights Constitution Distort American Politics?

A discussion with Christopher Caldwell

Christopher Caldwell discusses his new book, The Age of Entitlement.

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America, Land of Deformed Institutions

A discussion with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin pinpoints that American alienation and anger emerges from our weak political, social, and religious institutions.

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About

Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. Law & Liberty considers a range of foundational and contemporary legal issues, legal philosophy, and pedagogy.

The opinions expressed on Law & Liberty are solely those of the contributors to the site and do not reflect the opinions of Liberty Fund.
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