Osler's Razor

Well, as much as Administrative Law can be "rocked," Prof. Beal rocks it. As described in this article, Professor Beal recently caused the Texas Supreme Court to substantively alter an opinion after it had been issued by submitting a letter to that Court.

I don't know much about administrative law, but as I understand it the case involved administrative rule-making related to payments made to hospitals. The Supreme Court, on hearing the case for the second time, ruled while relying on two Court of Appeals decisions, remanding to the administrative agency. While agreeing with the outcome, Prof. Beal realized both that the decisions cited involved a different kind of rule, and that the remand should have been to the lower court, not to the agency.

Though he had no personal financial interest in the case, Prof. Beal realized the these aspects of the opinion were faulty. He wrote an amicus letter to the Court, which then revised the opinion (without citing Prof. Beal). Thus, Prof. Beal didn't get paid for this, got no credit for it, yet changed that important opinion in the best interests of the law. In serving as role models for our students, I can think of no better example than Prof. Beal's actions, and it reflects well on both his expertise and integrity that he sees this as a part of his work as an attorney.