Browner, et al. v. American Trucking Associations, et al.

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Our firm filed an amicus curiae brief in this case, which comes on a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where a bare majority ruled that Section 109 of the clean air act violated Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution which vests legislative power in Congress. The case generated a number of opinions, the majority Read More

State of North Dakota v. Family Life Services, Inc., et al. (Opinion)

admin Constitutional Law, North Dakota Supreme Court

Today, the Supreme Court of North Dakota unanimously reversed a Cass County District Court order that would have dismantled and reconstituted the board of directors of Family Life Services, a Christian pro-life ministry in the Fargo-Morehead community. North Dakota’s high court ruled that the lower court’s order turning Family Life Services over to persons whose religious views met with Read More

Bill Olson Appears on the O’Reilly Factor

admin Appearances, Executive Orders, Press Coverage

Today, Bill Olson was a guest of Bill O’Reilly (The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News) to discuss President Clinton’s abuse of Executive Orders. He discussed the Separation of Powers issue, current states of national emergency, the Permanent Striker Replacement Executive Order (No. 12954), and the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument Proclamation (No. 6920 issued under the Antiquities Act Read More

ATA v. Giani

admin Nonprofit Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Our firm filed the brief of Free Speech Defense and Education Fund as amici curiae in support of petitioner in American Target Advertising, Inc. v. Francine A. Giani, Division Director, Utah Division of Consumer Protection in the United States Supreme Court. The brief argues that Utah’s Charitable Solicitations Act is unconstitutional. The Free Speech Defense and Education Fund was joined Read More

Chenoweth, et al. v. Clinton, et al.

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of eight members of Congress (Hon. John T. Doolittle, Hon. George Radanovich, Hon. Tom Tancredo, Hon. Bob Stump, Hon. Barbara Cubin, Hon. Tom A. Coburn, Hon. Wally Herger, and Hon. John E. Perterson) and four nonprofit organizations (Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, Gun Owners Foundation, Citizens United Read More

Executive Order Study Press Coverage

admin Executive Orders

The Cato Institute study co-authored by Bill Olson, “Executive Orders and National Emergencies: How Presidents Have Come to ‘Run the Country’ by Usurping Legislative Power,” was quoted in this Enter Stage Right article “Congress Must Seize Back the Law-making Power.”

John Hay Hooker v. FEC

admin Election Law, Litigation, U. S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee

Our firm represented Presidential candidate Howard Phillips and The Constitution Party, who were named defendants in the case of Hooker v. FEC.   On December 15, 1999, we filed a Motion to Dismiss and Memorandum of Points and Authorities in support thereof, in the case in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, which was granted on April 12, 2000.  John Jay Hooker Read More

Boy Scout Brief (on Petition for Writ of Certiorari)

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

The Olson law firm filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Public Advocate of the United States and the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education defending the right of the Boy Scouts to determine their own leadership.

This brief urges that the U.S. Supreme Court grant certiorari and review the decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court which compels the Boy Scouts Read More

CATO Study: The Power of a President to Rule by Executive Order

admin Publications

“The problem of presidents’ using executive orders to legislate, usurping the powers of Congress or the states, has grown exponentially with the expansion of government in the 20th century,” William Olson, co-author of a new Cato Institute study on the abuse of executive orders, told the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process of the House Rules Committee today. “This raises fundamental Read More

Testimony on Executive Orders before the House Rules Committee’s Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process

admin Appearances, Executive Orders, Publications

Bill Olson was asked to testify before the House Rules Committee’s Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process. The topic of the hearing was “The Impact of Executive Orders on the Legislative Process: Executive Lawmaking?” Bill Olson also submitted answers to questions before the House Rules Committee’s Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process.

Link to publication