Email: Learning Journey: Chevron deference; Section 1 Day 1

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  Today, we introduce Chevron deference.

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Welcome to the first of six installments of Ballotpedia’s Learning Journey on Chevron deference! We are excited for you to join us and deepen your understanding of this legal doctrine and its contribution to the expansion of the administrative state. The term "Chevron deference" refers to the administrative law principle by which courts are expected to defer to an enforcement agency’s reasonable interpretation of a statute when the legislative language is silent or ambiguous. Such deference is widely regarded as a major factor in the expansion of federal agency powers. This Learning Journey guides you through the nuts and bolts of Chevron deference, including its history, application, evolution, leading arguments for and against, and its uncertain future. Let’s get started! What is deference? Chevron deference is one of several deference doctrines developed by the U.S. Supreme Court over the course of the 20th century. Others are Skidmore deference and Auer deference. The Chevron doctrine is named for the 1984 case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., in which the U.S. Supreme Court set forth the legal test to determine whether a court should defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute. Courts are expected to refrain from imposing a statutory interpretation unless the agency interpretation is determined to be unreasonable.  Justice Antonin Scalia summed up Chevron deference in a 1989 lecture at the Duke University School of Law as “the principle that the courts will accept an agency's reasonable interpretation of the ambiguous terms of a statute that the agency administers.” Deference applies in cases of judicial review, i.e., when a plaintiff accuses an agency of unlawful action. In such cases, the court must decide whether the agency was authorized to act as it did. However, Congress often passes broadly worded legislation that requires agencies to fill in the details of rulemaking and enforcement. The degree of interpretation is a direct function of lawmakers’ imprecision in crafting statutory language. Read On: Deference Chevron Deference What qualifies as a reasonable interpretation? A reasonable interpretation of a statute is one that is not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to the statute. This standard of review originated in the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (APA). The act instructs courts to invalidate any agency actions under review that are found to be "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." Read On: Administrative Procedure Act Arbitrary-or-Capricious Test What’s next? Tomorrow we take a closer look at the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. The case involved a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of a provision in the Clean Air Act. The next stage of the journey will cover the court’s reasoning in the case, and the development of the deference principle. Review Check out the following Ballotpedia pages to dive deeper into today’s key concepts: Deference Chevron deference Arbitrary-or-capricious test