Debate Over Qui Tam Constitutionality Resumes After 20-Year Hiatus

There’s a long-standing debate about the constitutionality of the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, which allow private parties to initiate cases on behalf of the United States government. Although there’s been little litigation on the subject in the past two decades, the question has come up again recently.

Attorneys for Covington & Burling summarize four principal challenges to the constitutionality of qui tam enforcement – over Standing, the Appointments Clause, Separation of Powers, and Due Process – and then discuss two recent events in which these challenges have reappeared: the confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee William Barr, and a cert petition that asks the Supreme Court to rule on qui tam constitutionality.