Litigation Associate Andrew M. Grossman testified February 3 on "The Use and Abuse of Consent Decrees in Federal Rulemaking" before the House Subcommittee on the Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
The hearing focused on the abuses of consent decrees in institutional reform and agency litigation and the constitutional concerns these decrees raise when the courts stray from their proper role.
In his testimony, Grossman provided solutions for those consent decrees that are binding on the Executive Branch and argues that it should preserve its powers and discretion by declining to enter into consent decrees that compromise either.
After describing the general problem and providing a solution, Grossman went on to discuss the vital principles that Attorney General Meese laid out in a 1986 memorandum setting Department of Justice Policy on consent decrees and settlements, which should serve as a blueprint for any attempt to address the problem.
Grossman recommended that Congress act to address these problems by providing for greater transparency and public participation and ensuring that consent decrees are entered into and carried out in the public interest, rather than as a means to circumvent usual rulemaking procedures or to evade accountability.
Read Grossman's entire Congressional Testimony.