“INDEPENDENT AGENCIES” ARE A CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION: NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Restore Presidential Control over “Independent” CPSC Commissioners. “Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court to hear Consumers’ Research v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, taking this golden opportunity to overturn the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor v. Federal Trade Commission decision and revamp CPSC’s unconstitutional structure. Under current law, the President supposedly is only allowed to fire CPSC commissioners “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,” which insulates them from removal in violation of the ‘take Care’ clause of Article II of the Constitution. To approve CPSC’s structure, the Fifth Circuit below invoked Humphrey’s Executor, which upheld the constitutionality of FTC Commissioners’ similar tenure protections on the flawed theory that the Federal Trade Commission does not exercise executive power.”

Reminder/Disclosure: I’m on the NCLA’s advisory board.