Do government officials need extra legal help?
By Joseph J. PetrilloJul 27, 2006 Three legal doctrines work together to shield the federal government from claims it has acted in bad faith. One, the presumption of regularity, assumes that officials act properly and in good faith. Second, to overcome the presumption, a claimant must produce very strong evidence. This doctrine has a cumbersome name: the ‘well-nigh irrefragable proof’ standard. Third, that proof must show that the motive for the action is a specific intent to harm the claimant. These three doctrines presume that we can trust federal officials to do the right thing, virtually without exception. They further presume improper conduct only happens when an official abuses his or her power in order to hurt a particular person. And that is such an unlikely event, it requires the strongest possible proof. In several recent cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has emphasized that when the U.S. enters into contract relations, its rights and duties are ‘generally’ governed by the law ap
