Tessera
Folgen

Rick Hills

@rickhills.bsky.social

William T Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU Law School, studying & teaching local gov’t, landuse regulation, const’l law, fed courts, admin law, legislation, and federalism. Forlorn hope: reduce stakes and polarization by decentralizing divisive decisions.

463 Posts5494 Follower432 Folgt
Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last mo.

SCOTUS in Cook relied on the precedent of the Banks of the United States to uphold the Fed’s independence. But that’s historical amnesia: The BUS was ultimately rejected as unconstitutional in 1841, because it was thought by Congress to be unaccountable to democracy. prawfsblawg.com/cook-v-trump...

Cook v. Trump and the Banks of the United States as a Case Study in Judicial Amnesia: How Judges Selectively Forget Dissensus in Minting New Political Precedents

The SCOTUS has lately been going long on the idea that post-enactment political precedents can settle constitutional controversies. Their latest investment in this principle is Trump v. Cook’s idea…

prawfsblawg.com

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Here’s a proposal, worth considering IMHO, to defuse passions over immigration with federalism: Let each state adopt their own visa policies. (Lest you think that idea mad, read Cristina Rodriguez, “The Significance of the Local in Immigration Regulation” (2008)). open.substack.com/pub/daviddfr...

Immigration: The Federal Solution

The conflict over immigration has become something close to a civil war, with the federal government blocking state action against federal agents arguably guilty of murder.

open.substack.com

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · 10mo ago

A fine thread from @richardprimus.bsky.social on Judge Immergut’s opinion barring use of the National Guard in Portland. As SCOTUS observed in Dep’t of Commerce v NY, “Our review is deferential, but we are ‘not required to exhibit a naiveté from which ordinary citizens are free.’”

RRichard Primus@richardprimus.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Which is true. And everyone willing to know it knows it. But courts—and especially the Supreme Court—have labored mightily to avoid saying it. All the way back to the travel ban cases in Trump 1. This judge just told it straight. (11/18)

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I strongly recommend this fine essay by Caleb Nelson evaluating the originalist basis of the theory that all executive officers must serve at the President’s pleasure. Nelson, committed to originalism, sees nothing in Art II requiring such a presidential power. democracyproject.org/posts/must-a...

Special Feature: Must Administrative Officers Serve at the President’s Pleasure?

A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

democracyproject.org

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

Having spent dozens of hours digging up a rogues’ gallery of weeds (Russian Thistle, tumble weeds the size of beach balls, globemallow, punture weed loaded with goats’ heads, etc), I am sparing this 6’ Palmer’s Pigweed growing out of a cement block out of sheer respect for its tenacity.

Bild
Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

As @zhangtaisu.bsky.social @bridgetfahey.bsky.social and Lin note, there are many areas in which states can provide a check on federal manipulation of data. Jobs and inflation, however, are two areas where this safeguard fails, because states lack the state capacity to generate reliable numbers.

Taisu Zhang@zhangtaisu.bsky.social · last yr.

It seems like, well, an opportune time to push this paper again. We find qualitative similarities in how the Chinese and American governments produce economic statistics, but even we couldn’t anticipate how quickly those similarities would strengthen…

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

Because the BLS provides information that political appointees can review and reject, Noah and I argue that Congress can always insulate BLS staff from serving at the Prez’s pleasure. But, as Abbe Gluck notes, loose language in Braidwood puts that position at risk. www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/expe...

Expertise after Chevron: A potentially pyrrhic victory on executive control over preventive care

This is part of SCOTUSblog’s term in review series, in which scholars analyze some of the most significant cases of the 2024-25 Supreme Court term. With so much going on, […]

scotusblog.com

Noah Rosenblum@narosenblum.bsky.social · last yr.

In our article on Arthrex (forthcoming in @dukelaw.bsky.social’s Duke Law Journal), @rickhills.bsky.social and I use the BLS as a quintessential example of administration, which can properly be insulated from presidential meddling even under unitary executive theory. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

McEntarfer is the epitome of the apolitical civil servant. She started at the Census Bureau 20 years ago as a labor economist and has worked at calculating jobs numbers ever since. She was confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in 2024, at the height of partisan polarization. www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report

The president implied that the BLS commissioner, longtime federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."

nbcnews.com

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

Evaluation of Minneapolis’ reducing zoning constraints in suggests that deregulation reduced housing costs by 15-23%—even without adding a lot of new units, because density alone may reduce construction costs. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Effects of Minneapolis Upzoning on House Prices: Evidence from the Minneapolis 2040 Plan

The Minneapolis 2040 Plan, which came into effect in January 2020, introduced sweeping re- forms to housing regulations. One of the most significant aspect of t

papers.ssrn.com

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

This is the quotidian quagmire, multiplied by thousands across the country, too routine and boring to get attention from anyone w/o a nearby down payment at stake, that has brought us the housing crisis.

Jess Zimbabwe@jzimbabwe.bsky.social · last yr.

Plymouth Housing’s permanent supportive housing project in downtown Redmond is facing an appeal—claiming not enough parking. A public hearing is set for July 2. Affordable housing voices are needed in the convo—not just “Safe Eastside.” Info: www.redmond.gov/2235/2025-He...

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

Aside from being the right thing to do as a matter of policy IMHO, state & local law enforcement’s demanding to see the identity and warrant of these feds would be a great way to set limits on Ableman v Booth and Tarble’s Case (which -again IMHO- is an important thing to do as a matter of doctrine).

The Editorial Board@editorialboard.bsky.social · last yr.

When ICE agents look like this, it is ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE for state and local law enforcement to step in and demand they identify themselves and show judicial warrants before detaining anyone from an immigration court. Democratic mayor and governors can take action on this.

Rick Hills@rickhills.bsky.social · last yr.

Reading Skrmetti this morning, I realize how astute @jdmortenson.bsky.social and Rich Friedman were to include Geduldig in their conlaw casebook — and how much I regret not including that case in my syllabus. That opinion is really amenable to bad-faith nonsense like that found in footnote 3.

Bild