The Courts

W.C. Bunting and Tomer Stein investigate the role of amicus curiae process in the development of business law cases at the state level. The findings reveal that the business law amicus curiae process is dominated by lobbying groups, particularly by associations serving big business, and that these "Amicus Lobbying" efforts have a higher success rate compared to non-lobbying groups.

The following is an excerpt from Despoina Mantzari's book, "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence," now out at Oxford University Press.

According to a poll conducted by ProMarket at the Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference, experts were skeptical about the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Apple, with 54% believing it had the lowest odds among the five Big Tech antitrust cases of a ruling in favor of the government. In contrast, the experts were more optimistic about the government's chances in the Google AdTech case, with 52% saying it had the best odds for a government win, and another 21% favoring the Google Search case.

Carl Shapiro discusses the central role of economics in merger review under Section 7 of the Clayton Act. Shapiro traces the evolution of merger law in response to advances in Industrial Organization economics over the past 50 years, highlighting how economic concepts and analysis are indispensable for predicting the likely competitive effects of proposed mergers.

Eric Posner discusses why many antitrust professionals believe the law follows economic interpretation, despite the absence of economics in the relevant statutes. He argues that antitrust laws themselves have been resistant to adopting a coherent "economic theory" approach, leading to a tension between the economic views of agencies and academics versus the legal interpretations taken by courts.

Patent trolls are amassing portfolios of patents, not to produce goods but to shake down innovative firms that use these technologies as inputs for settlement fees. The Advancing America’s Interest Act is an important step to protecting American innovators and the United States economy, writes Roslyn Layton.

For the first time in decades, the Department of Justice filed suit against an airline merger—and won. William McGee argues that the next fight is correcting false assertions concerning JetBlue and Spirit for the sake of future potential mergers, such as one between Alaskan and Hawaiian Airlines.

In new research, Elise Blasingame, Christina Boyd, Roberto Carlos, and Joseph Ornstein explore how the Trump administration used a quota policy for immigration judges working under the Department of Justice's purview to influence how they adjudicated cases. The authors find the policy successfully nudged more judges to rule against immigrant plaintiffs.

A federal judge recently blocked the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit airlines on antitrust grounds, reversing antitrust enforcers’ recent history of waving through airline industry consolidation. However, while this decision affirms that mergers designed to reduce competition and raise prices violate antitrust law, it comes too late to undo the damage from 15 years of lax enforcement that allowed radical consolidation in the airline industry.

Eleanor Fox evaluates "The Political Economy of the Decline of Antitrust Enforcement in the United States" by Professors Lancieri, Posner, and Zingales, praising its revelations on the depth of corporate capture while challenging its narrative of judicial and regulatory dissembling on promises to uphold antitrust.