Court Rulings and Administrative Agencies

Court Rulings and Administrative Agencies

Administrative agencies are responsible for carrying out legislation by creating rules and regulations. Sometimes the legislative statutes passed down by Congress are ambiguous. As a result, administrative agencies have to interpret the statutes to the best of their ability to determine how to carry them out. In some cases, specific people or groups sue agencies because they do not agree with the regulations that the agencies have put in place. The courts are responsible for resolving these issues. To do so, they use a test referred to as the Chevron deference that came about in the Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. case.

The Chevron deference is a two-part test the courts use when hearing cases against administrative agency rules and regulations. The first part determines whether the statute passed down by Congress to an administrative agency is ambiguous in any way. If the statute is ambiguous, the second part determines whether the agency’s interpretation of the statute is reasonable. If the courts determine that the administrative agency acted unreasonably in carrying out the statute, they may force the agency to revisit its processes and change its rules or regulations.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. in the LexisNexis Academic database in the Walden Library. Consider the Chevron deference test and how it might apply to the cases you review this week.
• Review the case summary “Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC v. Radio Television News Directors Association” in your course text, Landmark Supreme Court Cases. Also review the entire court case in the LexisNexis Academic database in Walden’s library. Think about how the Supreme Court’s ruling helped enforce FCC regulations.
• Review the case Davis v. Federal Election Commission in the LexisNexis Academic database in Walden’s library. Consider how the Supreme Court’s ruling contradicted FEC regulations.
• Using the Walden library or the Internet, find a case in which the Supreme Court’s rulings affected administrative agency powers and consider how.
• Pay particular attention to whether or not the Chevron deference was applied in the case you selected and, if so, what the results were.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a brief summary of the case you selected. In your summary, be sure to indicate whether or not the Chevron deference was applied and, if so, what the results were. Then explain the extent to which the ruling impacted administrative agency powers. Be specific.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.