Michael Reaves Wins Inaugural Gregory L. Ogden Award for Best Student Article by the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary
The Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary is pleased to announce the recipient of the inaugural Gregory L. Ogden Award for best student article is Michael Reaves for his article, "Major Questions (and Answers): A Call to Quiet the Quartet." The Gregory L. Ogden Award is named after Professor Gregory L. Ogden, who was instrumental in bringing the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary (NAALJ) to Pepperdine Caruso Law. He served for more than two decades as the faculty advisor for the journal.
The award is given to the NAALJ staff member who submits the most well-written, thoroughly researched, and intellectually engaging comment or note involving administrative law. "Major Questions (and Answers): A Call to Quiet the Quartet" is set for publication in Volume XLIV next year.
Abstract of "Major Questions (and Answers): A Call to Quiet the Quartet"
On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, limiting the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Clean Power Plan. For the first time, the Court formally recognized the Major Questions Doctrine (MQD) as a determinative legal canon in an administrative rulemaking challenge – capping a four-part saga now referred to as the “Major Questions Quartet.” In 2023, state attorneys general are more emboldened than ever to challenge environmental rulemaking. Many of these challenges are destined to succeed under all current and future iterations of MQD. Given this stark reality, this Comment argues MQD is pernicious to environmental justice and, if left unchecked, will only exacerbate the ravages of climate change for future generations of Americans. Despite declining rates of climate change denialism in America, political polarization of environmental policy continues to hinder meaningful legislative achievement. Recent legislation fails to address the root cause of climate change and fatally perpetuates American dependence on fossil fuels. Highly skeptical of the passage of transformative legislation under the current Congress, this Comment reviews the viability of bold legislative and executive actions that may curb MQD’s pernicious impact – favoring action that focuses on streamlining regulatory review, restoring scientific integrity in government, placing more litigation burden on anti-regulatory interests, and shifting resources to severely underfunded environmental enforcement offices.