Catholic Law's Student Scholars Series presented its second installment on April 12 with a presentation by Isabelle Colaiezzi (3L).  Her scholarship, entitled "The Thunder Basin Boom: Rethinking the Doctrine of Implied Jurisdictional Preclusion," examined the limitations placed on federal district court jurisdiction over challenges to administrative agencies through the doctrine of implied preclusion. Professor Susanna Fischer, Director of the Comparative and International Law Institute and Director of the International Human Rights Summer Law School Program in Rome, provided the faculty response to Colaiezzi's presentation.

In her abstract, Colaiezzi notes when it is unclear from the review scheme whether Congress intended to allow district courts to hear challenges to ongoing administrative proceedings, courts have utilized a two-step approach taken from Thunder Basin Coal Company v. Reich. For over a decade, utilization of this approach often resulted in a finding of preclusion, even where a plaintiff raised a constitutional challenge which could normally be heard in district court under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. This Comment analyzes the evolution of the doctrine of implied preclusion, explains the most recent exception carved out in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, and considers the jurisprudential flaws in the doctrine as of 2024.

The Columbus School of Law Student Scholars Series was instituted in 2009 to recognize notable legal scholarship produced by members of the student body during the academic year and to foster the skills associated with presenting and defending that scholarship in a professional conference-style setting.

Below is a recording of the April 12 program.