By Jacob Knutson, Axios
The Supreme Court on Friday curtailed the executive branch’s ability to interpret laws it’s charged with implementing, giving the judiciary more say in what federal agencies can do.
Why it matters: The landmark 6-3 ruling along ideological lines overturns the court’s 40-year-old “Chevron deference” doctrine. It could make it harder for executive agencies to tackle a wide array of policy areas, including environmental and health regulations and labor and employment laws.
Driving the news: Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the opinion of the court, argued Chevron “defies the command of” the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs federal administrative agencies.
- He said it “requires a court to ignore, not follow, ‘the reading the court would have reached had it exercised its independent judgment as required by the APA.'”
- Further, he said it “is misguided” because “agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do.”
Roberts noted the court’s decision did not call into question prior cases that relied on Chevron, including holdings pertaining to the Clean Air Act, because they “are still subject to statutory stare decisis despite our change in interpretive methodology.”
Related news:
Supreme Court curbs federal agency power (Washington Post)
Supreme Court strikes down Chevron (SCOTUS Blog)
What to make of the death of Chevron (Politico)
US Supreme Court curbs federal agency powers (Reuters)
NJDEP Commissioner’s statement on court decision (NJDEP)
K&L Gates law firm’s webinar on impact of the decision (K&L Gates)
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