Loper Bright

In a recent Politico interview, when asked about a “fundamental shift” in the focus of the Environmental Protection Agency under his tenure, Administrator Lee Zeldin highlighted how the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is paramount to his decision-making.  

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari in American Gas Association v. Department of Energy, vacated the D.C. Circuit’s judgment below, and remanded for reconsideration “in light of the position asserted by the Solicitor General” in the government’s response brief.  This move revives the fight over the validity of the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”)  efficiency standards for residential furnaces and commercial water heaters.  More importantly, the GVR puts front and center on remand a question that courts are already grappling…

Last week, in Rutherford v. United States, the Court held 6-3 that certain nonretroactive changes to federal mandatory minimum sentences effectuated by the First Step Act (FSA) do not qualify as an “extraordinary and compelling reason” that can justify a reduced sentence under the “compassionate release” exception to the general rule against district courts modifying…

Several commentators have noted the potential relevance of the Supreme Court’s consequential decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo to coming fights over the authority of the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission.   Ed Whelan in National Review recently suggested the FCC’s attempts to “thwart[] judicial review of the legality of . . . license transfers,” which will soon be considered…

Professor Aaron Nielson has published some fascinating commentary over at Civitas Outlook in which he explores the dangers of agencies misusing science—or what they claim to be science—to avoid the impacts of Loper Bright and the end of Chevron deference.

As highlighted last week, Liberty University Law Review recently published a special issue containing essays submitted as part of its symposium on Loper Bright.  But there is other recent scholarship on Loper Bright worth highlighting.  One article in particular—“The Gray Area: Finding Implicit Delegation to Agencies After Loper Bright,” by Harvard Law professor Matthew Stephenson—deserves…

Last fall, Liberty University School of Law hosted a special symposium entitled “Loper Bright: A New Era of Administrative Law.”  As we previously reported, the event included several panel discussions about the impact of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, as well as a special keynote address by Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S.…

Last month, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Beaird v. United States, indicating it would consider whether Stinson v. United States “still correctly states the rule for the deference that courts must give the commentary to the Sentencing Guidelines.”  As I explained at the time, this move not only “opens the door for reconsideration of…