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The Anti-Gnostic's avatar

"Send no lunge beyond thy length," as a wise man once said. Judicial arrogance and overreach is the most toxic solvent to the rule of law, which really is a social construct and more fragile than we'd like to admit.

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Adrian Vermeule's avatar

Love the fencing analogy! Thx

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The Anti-Gnostic's avatar

It's from Kipling, who I consider the wisest of the Moderns. I tear up whenever I read this poem.

https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_outsong.htm

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Mark Miller's avatar

good post.

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Silvio Vannini's avatar

Traditional respect for other branches' functions would require non to halt expenses which have been the object of decisions taken by the legislative, in discharge of constitutional duties (Art. I appropriations clause), not to dismiss (=fire) employees who are providing for the general welfare of the US under congressional mandate, not to put the federal executive under a ketaminic guy not appointed with advice and consent of the Senate...

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Michail Viljami Hubbard's avatar

"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." Article II, Section 1, Clause 1.

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Robert Levine's avatar

Scalia was also a strong defender of Chevron; perhaps a position he wouldn’t take today. You can’t both negate Chevron and support “traditional respect for…”; they’re essentially the same thing.

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Adrian Vermeule's avatar

That’s an interesting comment, but I disagree. Loper is a merits doctrine about interpretation. It says nothing about the antecedent question of reviewability.

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Robert Levine's avatar

To my mind, that’s a perfect example of how judges (and commentators) can enact their priors by playing games with doctrines. The fundamental principle (or question at issue) is the same in both case: at what point is the judiciary allowed,’or even required, to rein in the executive? Presumably the answer should be something like “when the executive breaks the law,” right?

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Adrian Vermeule's avatar

To my mind, your comment is a perfect example of people thinking about law politically rather than legally.

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