Since the Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, this judicial review has been highly deferential: courts must uphold agency interpretations of unclear laws as long as these interpretations are “reasonable.” But the Chevron doctrine faces backlash from constitutional scholars and, now, from Supreme Court justices who insist that courts, not administrative agencies, have the authority to say what the law is. Critics of the administrative state also charge that Chevron deference enables unaccountable bureaucratic power.
Case Western Reserve University School of Law will host “The Chevron Doctrine: Its Rise and Fall and the Future of the Administrative State,” a talk with Thomas Merrill, Columbia University law professor, to review the history and immense consequences of the Chevron doctrine and suggest a way forward.
This event will be held Sept. 20 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the School of Law’s CWRU Moot Courtroom (Room A59).