Court Accountability: “Consumers’ Research is a right-wing group that brought three identical cases in three different circuits—a concerted effort to spur the Roberts Court to revive the ‘nondelegation doctrine,’ a weapon against the administrative state that has lain dormant since the Lochner Court used it to strike down parts of FDR’s New Deal in the early 1930s. The Roberts Court refused to review two appeals courts decisions that rejected Consumers’ Research’s constitutional claims. But several weeks later, the 5th Circuit went the other way to create a circuit split the justices had to resolve. In taking the case, however, the court also asked to be briefed on whether the case was moot based on a technical procedural issue—suggesting the justices were looking to rebuke the 5th Circuit for forcing an issue the justices would prefer to avoid. Yet the justices ignored the mootness question at oral argument; instead, the majority center appeared ready to side against the 5th Circuit on the merits and uphold the constitutionality of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund.” (See Court Accountability’s full June Decisions Preview here.)

Consumers’ Research, the respondent in the case, is backed by right-wing powerbroker Leonard Leo. A source close to Leo’s 85 Fund told Axios last year that Consumers’ Research is an example of an organization that has “adopted the kind of aggressive tactics Leo encourages.”

Out of 22 respondent-side amicus briefs filed in this case, at least 11 were filed by organizations funded by or otherwise strongly connected to individuals with close ties to one or more Supreme Court justice. One brief in support of neither party was also filed by one of these organizations.

Powerbroker-Affiliated Organizations