Posted on 03/03/2016 8:05:41 AM PST by xzins
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants, in a big victory for the Obama administration.
Roberts’s order came despite his court’s 5-4 decision last year ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation, known as mercury and air toxics standards, is illegal.
Michigan led a group of 20 states last month, empowered by the Supreme Court’s recent unprecedented decision to halt the EPA’s climate change rule for power plants, in asking the court to live up to its ruling last year and block the regulation’s enforcement. “Unless this court stays or enjoins further operation of the Mercury and Air Toxics rule, this court’s recent decision in Michigan v. EPA will be thwarted,” the states wrote in a Feb. 23 filing with the court.
“A stay or injunction is appropriate because this court has already held that the finding on which the rule rests in unlawful and beyond EPA’s statutory authority.”
The EPA responded that no judicial stay is necessary, since it’s working to fix the problem the court identified by next month, and the states would not suffer irreparable harm in that time.
“The requested stay would harm the public interest by undermining reliance interests and the public health and environmental benefits associated with the rule,” the government said. “The application lacks merit and should be denied.”
Roberts acted swiftly, waiting less than a day after the EPA’s response brief to side with the Obama administration. He acted unilaterally, electing to reject the request himself rather than take it to the full court, which may have led to a 4-4 split following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.
The court ruled last June that the EPA should have conducted a cost-benefit analysis on the regulation before it even decided to start writing it. The agency did so as part of the regulatory process, but the justices said that was not sufficient.
But the Supreme Court did not overturn the rule at the time, and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in December that the EPA could keep enforcing it.
Environmental groups were very pleased with Roberts’s decision.
More proof that the Constitution is dead. Roberts has always ruled with the political class. He believes laws come from the ballot box.
That makes sense.
But Obama wasn’t even in the news on this. It was a yawn that Scotus said he couldn’t close down power plants without cost analysis.
This is just pure meddling when it did not have to be meddled with.
I think you’re exactly right. Roberts has issues that run much deeper than his adopted children.
Roberts is totally compromised and that’s the reason he is where he is. Think Denny Hastert type issues. Hastert even though no longer in Congress was exposed as an object lesson to those who might balk at doing their master’s bidding.
I think you’re exactly right. Roberts has issues that run much deeper than his adopted children.
Roberts is totally compromised and that’s the reason he is where he is. Think Denny Hastert type issues. Hastert even though no longer in Congress was exposed as an object lesson to those who might balk at doing their master’s bidding.
And this is typical government at it's best. They ignore their own laws and pay a penalty using taxpayers money to justify it. (Free money)
Maybe it was Robert’s choice of this ruling or going to Texas on a special invitation from John Poindexter!
Wasn’t Cruz a big Roberts supporter?
The globalists gave us Roberts for a reason.
“That is completely unfair.”
If people are going to trash Trump for joking about his sister being a SCOTUS judge, then the guy that wrote serious op/eds for Roberts will have to own up to it.
Roberts is Ted’s boy.
Yep.
Cruz claimed he knew Roberts to be a conservative.
He was wrong.
Did Roberts re-write the rule for the administration too?
“Roberts is a huge disappointment.”
He’s part of the beast. It’s tentacles are showing up everywhere.
Little Johnny Roberts screws the people yet again.
Probably in gold ink.
Could it be that Roberts is a lefty?
Interesting. CJ reserves the right to filter cases that aren't worthy of SCOTUS review. This obviously isn't one of those since it significantly defines Agency powers outside legislative control. This is his attempt to circumvent his own court.
I am now convinced that the Obama admin has something on Roberts and has been blackmailed. His left turn at about the time of ACA ruling otherwise is without explanation.
No one else. They were looking for a slim paper trail to get the nom. through the Senate. Reagan gave us Kennedy and O’Connor. Hopefully we all learn from past compromises so as not to repeat mistakes.
Cruz is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t by those who support other candidates. Roberts looked like a good choice to NEARLY everyone, enough so that he became the chief justice. Dig up the FR archives and see how many freepers supported him. Nearly everyone.
He seems to favor injury to the American economy.
All of his bad decisions support loss of industry, loss of jobs, loss of financial stability.
He seems to favor economic chaos.
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