The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing archive for:  “Supreme Court”

Feingold-Kyl Update

A few months ago I commented on the absurdity of the Feingold-Kyl amendment to the judicial pay raise bill, which appeared to be a thinly veiled attempt to target the George Mason Law and Economics Center and a few others. The absurdity with which I was particularly interested at the time was the fact that ... Feingold-Kyl Update

Two on SCOTUS Antitrust Cases

Courtesy of Larry Solum’s Legal Theory Blog, the following two papers have been posted on SSRN and may be of interest to our readers. First is Keith Hylton’s analysis of the Weyerhaueser decision, Weyerhaeuser, Predatory Bidding, and Error Costs.  Here is the abstract: In Weyerhaeuser v. Ross-Simmons the Supreme Court held that the predatory pricing ... Two on SCOTUS Antitrust Cases

The Roberts Courts Antitrust Philosophy: You Say Harvard, I Say Chicago …

The debate over the whether the current Supreme Court’s decisions are more accurately described as influenced by the Chicago School, the Harvard School, Post-Chicago thinking, or other influences has recently attracted a great deal of scholarship from premier antitrust scholars (e.g. FTC Commissioner William Kovacic’s article on the identifies a Chicago/Harvard double-helix structure in the ... The Roberts Courts Antitrust Philosophy: You Say Harvard, I Say Chicago …

Clarence Thomas’s Grandfather

I would have to think long and hard about writing a book titled “My Grandfather’s Daughter.â€Â  If I wrote such a book, you see, I would feel compelled to do justice to the memory of my grandfather(s) with the book.  The book would need to be incredibly well-written, well-researched, and respectful, to reflect positively on ... Clarence Thomas’s Grandfather

Interesting Section 2 Developments

A pair of interesting antitrust appellate decisions have been released over the past few days involving single firm conduct and Section 2: Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth (9th Cir.) and Broadcom v. Qualcomm (3rd Cir.). First, the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth reversed the district court’s Lepage’s based jury instruction in ... Interesting Section 2 Developments

Chemerinksy's Theory of the Roberts' Court's Antitrust Jurisprudence

In a California Bar Journal, Professor Chemerinsky documents what he describes as the Supreme Court’s “sharp turn to the right.”  Ted Frank describes Chemerinsky’s review of the term as “not especially honest” and discusses a few cases there.  So what does Chemerinsky make of the recent antitrust decisions?  Your hint is that the section is titled: ... Chemerinksy's Theory of the Roberts' Court's Antitrust Jurisprudence

More Thoughts on Free Market Orthodoxy in Antitrust

In my last post I claimed that there is a no “free market economics orthodoxy” amongst antitrust economists or those working in the field of law and economics. In response to the post, an anonymous TOTM reader emails the following related, and probably more interesting, questions: “is there a free market orthodoxy amongst (1) legal ... More Thoughts on Free Market Orthodoxy in Antitrust

My Take on Credit Suisse . . .

is here, over at eCCP, and differs somewhat from Thom’s. The takeway excerpt is: Credit Suisse has important implications for antitrust practice. The decision’s effect is to narrow the scope of antitrust law and to invite efforts by regulated industries to narrow it still further. The court’s “clearly incompatible†standard is new and (though it ... My Take on Credit Suisse . . .

Dr. Miles (1911-2007)

So Dr. Miles is dead. May he rest in peace. No great surprises in the majority opinion in Leegin. Justice Kennedy, quite rightly, emphasized points we have asserted numerous times on this blog. Most notably: The per se rule should be reserved for practices that are always, or almost always, anticompetitive. The common law nature ... Dr. Miles (1911-2007)

Dr. Miles Overruled!!!

Josh, Thom, and I all predicted correctly that Dr. Miles would be overruled. We even predicted the vote count! I had hoped that Justice Breyer would join the majority, but instead he joined with Justices Ginsberg, Souter, and Stevens (as predicted) in dissent. The opinion is here.

Predictions on Leegin

Well we’re coming down to the wire, folks. The Supreme Court is wrapping up its term any day now, and no still no word on Leegin. Tom Goldstein from SCOTUSBLOG tells us the decision’s coming on Thursday. He also predicts that the author will be Justice Stevens, who has an antitrust background and hasn’t written ... Predictions on Leegin

Credit Suisse and "Sector Regulation": SCOTUS Picks the Right Poison

In Monday’s Credit Suisse v. Billing decision, the Supreme Court held that the federal securities laws implicitly precluded the application of antitrust law to the defendants’ alleged misconduct. The plaintiffs, buyers of newly issued securities, had accused the defendants, underwriting firms that had collectively marketed and distributed those securities, of violating Section 1 of the ... Credit Suisse and "Sector Regulation": SCOTUS Picks the Right Poison