DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COURTS

The report details a concerted effort by the Trump administration and members of Congress to restrict judicial review, expand forced arbitration, limit class action lawsuits, and increase the financial risks of public interest litigation. It argues that these measures, often supported by corporate interests, undermine the constitutional system of checks and balances and disproportionately affect marginalized communities. The document provides specific examples of pending bills and administrative directives that would shield government agencies and corporations from legal accountability, specifically citing impacts on the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and medical malpractice recovery.

• Since January 2017, members of Congress have introduced over 50 bills intended to eliminate or severely limit court access, specifically targeting laws related to civil rights, consumer rights, public health, and environmental protection.
• Legislative efforts such as the Regulatory Accountability Act (S. 951) and the REINS Act (H.R. 26) use "no judicial review" clauses to shield agency decisions and Congressional inaction from independent court oversight.
• The report identifies a trend of using forced arbitration to block consumers and employees from the court system, noting that the Trump administration overturned a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that would have prohibited financial institutions from forcing customers into mandatory arbitration.
• Proposed legislation like the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act (H.R. 985) would create significant burdens for plaintiffs to certify a class, which the American Bar Association describes as a nearly insurmountable barrier for those seeking redress from large institutions.
• Efforts to make public interest litigation more expensive include "loser pays" provisions in bills like the Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act (H.R. 1179), which would require losing parties to cover all opposing legal costs in Clean Water Act cases.
• The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (H.R. 720) seeks to reinstate a discredited 1980s policy requiring judges to sanction attorneys for filing lawsuits deemed frivolous, a move the report argues would disproportionately impact civil rights and employment discrimination plaintiffs.
• The report highlights the Resilient Federal Forest Act (H.R. 2936) as a threat that would force forest management challenges into binding arbitration and prohibit the use of preliminary injunctions to stop irreparable harm, such as the clear-cutting of old-growth forests.
• Administrative directives from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have restricted the government's ability to enter into settlements that provide benefits to third-party injured communities.
• The report argues that the ability to reach settlements was essential for the eventual adoption of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard in 2011, which prevents up to 11,000 premature deaths annually.

APA

Earthjustice (n.d.). DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COURTS. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/accesstojustice_earthjustice_20180412.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COURTS. n.d. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/accesstojustice_earthjustice_20180412.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COURTS |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/accesstojustice_earthjustice_20180412.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjusticenddefending, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COURTS}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/accesstojustice_earthjustice_20180412.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }