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THE DOCKET
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An eminent domain scandal in Rhode Island intensifies; DOGE initiatives blocked by judicial intervention; and PLF’s Molly Nixon explains the reality of “national emergencies.”
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HERE'S WHAT'S ON THE DOCKET.
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Last week, we introduced you to the Santoro family—second-generation Italian Americans and longtime builders—whose plans to develop new, affordable housing were derailed after public threats from local officials and a rushed vote to seize the family’s land through eminent domain.
Shockingly, the situation worsened, with the town moving to illegally assume ownership of the family’s land “without any notice and without any due process.”
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Telehealth waivers. Emergency powers. Eviction moratoria. COVID-era policies ran the gamut from good to bad, and worse. Now, five years later, PLF editorial director Nicole Yeatman offers an update.
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A few weeks ago, in response to a federal judge pausing a DOGE-inspired executive order, Elon Musk took to X to vent, “If ANY judge ANYWHERE can block EVERY Presidential order EVERYWHERE, we do NOT have democracy, we have TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY.”
PLF’s Ethan Blevins concedes, “Musk does have a point. Courts do run counter to democracy.” But that’s precisely by design! “DOGE wants to cut the size of government. Great. If it’s serious about that effort, it must stand for a robust and independent judiciary, even when courts do things DOGE does not like.”
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Did you know most Americans have lived their entire lives under an emergency declaration? Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan once observed—when there were 43 ongoing national “emergencies”—that they are “just a sort of feature of modern life.” (Currently there are 51 national emergencies.)
PLF attorney Molly Nixon draws on George Orwell to examine how language can corrupt thought when it comes to “national emergencies” and the executive power they unlock.
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Many conservative pundits have found an unlikely punching bag in recent weeks: none other than Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is being criticized for ruling against the Trump administration.
But as PLF senior legal fellow Alison Somin points out in The Dispatch, Justice Barrett’s job is to decide cases based on how she understands the Constitution. “All Americans, regardless of their political views, benefit when judicial independence is respected,” Alison writes. “And we all stand to lose profoundly if both sides progressively escalate attacks on the court to avoid losing a game of chicken.”
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The separation of powers—and the principle that government action must be answerable to independent judicial oversight—is a cornerstone of the American experiment.
Next Monday, the Supreme Court will hear a case testing that principle, and it could affect every American’s ability to challenge government overreach.
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Despite outward appearances—and even some remarks by the president himself—Elon Musk is not formally part of DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency). The actual DOGE administrator is Amy Gleason, a relatively minor official from the first Trump administration.
So, what role exactly does Elon play in the controversial agency—and is it even constitutional? PLF attorney Michael Poon offers some insight into these questions and more.
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Earlier this month, a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) went into effect barring lenders from considering medical debts in loan decisions and removing healthcare debts from credit reports.
While such measures are intended to relieve the financial burden of rising healthcare costs, PLF’s John Sweeney and Jaimie Cavanaugh argue, “[they] only treat the symptoms rather than the disease.”
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