American Electric v. Connecticut

21 Jun, 2011

The Supreme Court Ducks the Political Question in American Electric

Shon R. Hopwood2019-03-18T18:47:57-05:00June 21st, 2011|Tags: American Electric, American Electric v. Connecticut, carbon dioxide emissions, environment, Supreme Court|

The U.S. Supreme Court largely ducked the most outlandish parts of the Second Circuit’s decision in American Electric. Instead, the Court reversed the lower court on the easiest of the several grounds for reversal: displacement of federal common law. But how would the political question doctrine have fared had the Court [...]

14 Apr, 2011

The Case With The Potential To Affect All of Us

Shon R. Hopwood2019-03-18T18:48:03-05:00April 14th, 2011|Tags: American Electric v. Connecticut, carbon dioxide emissions, global warming, No. 10-174, political question doctrine, standing doctrine|

There doesn’t seem to be a blockbuster case this term. Sure Snyder v. Phelps presented our worst forms of speech, captured our attention momentarily, and even led to a thought-provoking dissent by Justice Alito. But the narrow 8 to 1 ruling effectively made that case a non-issue going forward. Then there is [...]