Lawyer readers will enjoy perusing the DC Circuit’s decision (.pdf) finding that President Obama exceeded his recess appointment powers in three NLRB appointments.

I’ve only had a chance to review the decision quickly, but it represents a dramatic limitation on the recess appointment, finding that the power can only be exercised during recesses between sessions of Congress and only to fill vacancies that occur during the same recess. So that’s the big news from this: a major limitation on the recess appointment power. It’s a decision the Supreme Court will be hard-pressed not to review.

The other news, while not as big, is nonetheless quite serious: The decision would seem to void any action taken by the NLRB since last January. It will take some time to get a better handle on what that means, but you can imagine the chaos and confusion that could create.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.