Conservative justices struck down a decades old precedent known as the Chevron Doctrine that deferred to agencies when they used their expertise in administrating regulatory laws in situations where statutory law is not clear or absent. The decision is a major blow to agencies like the EPA, FDA and DOE. Liberal justices were in dissent, saying that the ruling was yet another example of conservatives rolling back agency authority. The case before the court involved a fee paid by fisherman for government observers on their boats who track the catch sizes.
Forty years ago the Court ruled 6-0 that agencies could use their subject matter expertise in administration to which judges should defer. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority that,“Judges are not experts in the field, and are not part of either political branch of government,” Lower courts continued to cite the doctrine (18,000+ times), but the Supreme Court had not cited it since 2016. All of the conservative justices have questioned the doctrine and were joined in their decision by Amy Coney Barrett. Opponents argued that the doctrine has become a rubber stamp for judges reviewing agency actions.
Fishermen hailed the decision as protecting their livelihoods. The fee imposed beginning in 2020 could have topped $700 a day, but it was never enforced, Environmental, health advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, organized labor and Democrats on the national and state level had urged the Court to leave the Chevron decision in place. This current conservative majority will continue its assault on the normal functioning of our national government.