Retaking the Field: The Constitutional Constraints on Federal Legislation That Displaces Consent Decrees

Authors

Brian M. Hoffstadt, George Washington University

Publication Title

Washington University Law Quarterly

Abstract

Part I focuses on the provisions implicated when Congress eliminates or modifies the regulatory consent decrees of federal courts—the separation of powers guarantee, the Takings Clause, the Contracts Clause, and the Due Process Clause. Part II examines the Supremacy Clause and Tenth Amendment issues that potentially circumscribe congressional efforts to displace the decrees of state courts. Part III discusses the Equal Protection and Bill of Attainder Clause concerns that define the degree of latitude Congress enjoys when crafting its new regulatory scheme.

Recommended Citation

Brian M. Hoffstadt, Retaking the Field: The Constitutional Constraints on Federal Legislation That Displaces Consent Decrees, 77 Wash. U. L. Q. 53 (1999).
Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol77/iss1/2