The attorneys general of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut say they are ready to open a new round of litigation to force power plants to make billions of dollars of pollution-control improvements after a decision by the Bush administration to abandon more than 50 investigations into possible violations of the Clean Air Act.
The change in the court's makeup is potentially significant, for the litigation of presidential power is just gathering steam.
Far from usurping the F.D.A.'s power, litigation aimed at holding drug companies liable for problems like those in this case complement the agency's efforts to protect the public.
Their massive war chest of funding has bought them loads of lobbying, litigation and PR power.
"Most people engaged in this type of litigation would say the power is the power of publicity and the very important symbolic impact of allowing the victims to tell their story," Ms. Slaughter said.
"Shame can have more power than litigation," says Mr Wu. "The market and consumers can control bad practices, but consumers actually have to be aware of what is going on for that to happen".The telecoms firms could even find that the boot is on the other foot, says Mr Odlyzko of the University of Minnesota.
Levine, whose son is also a lawyer in his firm, expects laser eye litigation to have staying power.
He summed up his feelings by asking: "When you tear the Constitution apart, bit by bit, and give it a death by a thousand cuts, what else will we sacrifice the Constitution for?" This is the question the D.C. court must ultimately answer as it considers the Clean Power Plan litigation: Just how much power does a president have?
Judge Alex Kozinski in effect denied the power of litigation to generate scientific knowledge untainted by the interests of the parties [but see Boden and Ozonoff (2008)].
The power of litigation to influence policy outcomes is supported by tobacco industry documents that show that the tobacco industry and its allies perceived early court cases such as major setbacks [ 28].
