A Supreme Court decision that for the last 40 years has been criticized by many in the business community for giving federal agencies too much regulatory power is being re-visited by the higher court. In the summer of 1984, the Court issued a unanimous decision granting the doctrine of judicial deference when it came a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. What has come to be popularly known as the Chevron Deference came about as the result of Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDF took the Environmental Protection Agency to court during a time when that agency was being criticized for being too lax in its interpretation of the Clean Air Act, especially when it came to companies like Chevron. In its deference ruling, the Court ruled in favor of giving agencies a certain amount of latitude when it came to enforcement activity, thus substantially empowering them in areas where the wording of a statute is not entirely clear. The agency’s judgment in such cases, said the higher court, should be deferred to, thus creating what has since been known as the Chevron Deference. A variety of industry groups have since attacked the ruling, with the National Association of Home Builders in a recent statement declaring that the Chevron Deference is “biased toward federal agencies by granting them broad leeway to interpret and implement regulations.” It is not known when the Supreme Court will make a decision on the Chevron Deference, but already court observers are making predictions: law reporter Amy Howe last week wrote in her website Howe on the Court that it seems unlikely that the Chevron Deference “will survive in its current form.” Howe added that a majority of the justices seem “ready to jettison the doctrine, or at the very least significantly limit it.” Reporting on the oral arguments in the case, the New York Times agreed, remarking that the "foundational doctrine of administrative law called the Chevron Deference appeared to be in peril.” By Garry Boulard
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