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Patrick J. Collins, et al. v. Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 17-20364 · judgment September 6, 2019

Decided · June 23, 2021

Pre-decision estimate: 35% cert probability (95% interval 26%–46%)

Before the decision, about 8.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a petition filed soon after the judgment below, a Fifth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.

Questions presented

Consolidated with 19-563. In 2008, Congress created the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) - an "independent" agency with sweeping authority over the housing finance system. 12 U.S.C. § 4511(a ). Unlike every other independent agency except the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, FHFA is headed by a single Director who can only be removed for cause by the President and is exempt from the congressional appropriations process. 12 U.S.C. §§ 4512(b)(2), 4516(f)(2). The questions presented are:

Whether FHFA’s structure violates the separation of powers; and
Whether the courts must set aside a final agency action that FHFA took when it was unconstitutionally structured and strike down the statutory provisions that make FHFA independent.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Charles Justin Cooper
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC

For respondent
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 11 merits
(11 supporting pet./neither)

Related
Vide, 19-563

Argument & decision

Argued December 9, 2020 — Hashim M. Mooppan · Aaron L. Nielson · David H. Thompson. Audio and transcript

Decided June 23, 2021. Opinion by Alito.

Proceedings

Jul 26 2021
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
Jun 23 2021
Adjudged to be AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, and case REMANDED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined in full; in which Kagan and Breyer, JJ., joined as to all but Part III–B; in which Gorsuch, J., joined as to all but Part III–C; and in which Sotomayor, J., joined as to Parts I, II, and III–C. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion. Gorsuch, J., filed an opinion concurring in part. Kagan, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Breyer and Sotomayor, JJ., joined as to Part II. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Breyer, J., joined. VIDED.
Mar 31 2021
Letter in response of Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Mar 18 2021
Letter of the federal parties notifying the Court of amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements between Treasury and FHFA on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Dec 09 2020
Argued. For federal parties: Hashim M. Mooppan, Counselor to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Court-appointed amicus curiae: Aaron L. Nielson, Provo, Utah. For petitioners in 19-422 & respondents in 19-563: David H. Thompson, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
Nov 19 2020
Reply of petitioners Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Nov 09 2020
Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument GRANTED, and the time is allotted as follows: 35 minutes for the Acting Solicitor General, 15 minutes for the Court-appointed amicus curiae, and 40 minutes for Patrick Collins, et al. VIDED.
Oct 30 2020
Motion for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument filed by the Acting Solicitor General. VIDED.
Oct 30 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. VIDED (Distributed)
Oct 30 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Professor John Harrison filed. (Distributed)
Oct 30 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Jed H. Shugerman filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Oct 27 2020
CIRCULATED
Oct 23 2020
Reply and Response Brief for the Federal Parties filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Oct 16 2020
Brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae filed. VIDED
Oct 14 2020
Record received from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
Oct 08 2020
Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amicus curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance filed.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amici curiae of Institutional Investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed. VIDED.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Thomas P. Vartanian filed. VIDED.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amici curiae of Scholars filed. VIDED.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed. VIDED.
Sep 23 2020
Brief amici curiae of Bryndon Fisher, et al. in support of neither party filed.(in 19-563)
Sep 22 2020
Brief amicus curiae of Timothy Howard filed. VIDED.
Sep 16 2020
SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. VIDED.
Sep 16 2020
Brief of Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED.
Sep 15 2020
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Patrick J. Collins, et al.
Aug 19 2020
Blanket Consent filed by Mnuchin, Steven T., et al. VIDED.
Aug 18 2020
Mnuchin, et al., shall file an opening brief on the questions presented by the petition in No. 19-563, limited to 13,000 words, by Monday, August 17, 2020. Collins, et al., shall file a consolidated response in No. 19-563 and opening brief in No. 19-422, limited to 20,000 words, by Wednesday, September 16, 2020. That brief shall bear a light red cover. The Court-appointed amicus curiae shall file a brief, limited to 13,000 words, by Friday, October 16, 2020. That brief shall bear a dark green cover. Mnuchin, et al., shall file a consolidated reply and response brief, limited to 13,000 words, by Friday, October 23, 2020. Collins, et al., shall file a consolidated reply and response brief to brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae, limited to 6,000 words, by Monday, November 23, 2020. That brief shall bear a tan cover. The brief of any amicus curiae in support of Collins, et al., or in support of neither set of parties, shall be filed by Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Those briefs shall bear a light green cover. The brief of any amicus curiae in support of Mnuchin, et al., or in support of Court-appointed amicus curiae, shall be filed by Friday, October 30, 2020. Those briefs shall bear a dark green cover. VIDED.
Aug 17 2020
Aaron Nielson, Esquire, of Provo, Utah, is invited to brief and argue, as amicus curiae, in support of the position that the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency does not violate the separation of powers. VIDED.
Aug 17 2020
Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed 5/12/21). VIDED.
Aug 17 2020
Brief of Federal Parties filed. (in 19-563)
Jul 09 2020
Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 19-563 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
Jul 09 2020
Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 19-422. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 19-422. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
Jul 08 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/8/2020.
Jun 29 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2020.
Dec 11 2019
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
Nov 12 2019
Reply of petitioners Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed.
Oct 30 2019
Brief of respondents Mnuchin, Steven T., et al. in opposition filed.
Oct 30 2019
Brief amicus curiae of Blackwells Capital LLC filed.
Sep 25 2019
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2019)