Ophir v. City of Boston

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WILLIAM G. YOUNG, District Judge.

My ten year old grandson came to watch the motion session where this matter was argued. When it was over, he said, ‘Why can’t Boston do what it wants with its taxis? It’s for the environment.”

Why indeed?

The answer, Cam, is that the Congress of the United States, pursuing national goals it considers important, has forbidden Boston from taking this initiative on behalf of its citizens. 1

1. INTRODUCTION

“A hallmark of environmental federalism is that neither federal nor state governments limit themselves to what many legal scholars have deemed…