Posted on 07/09/2024 10:58:14 AM PDT by John Semmens
In the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the US Supreme Court overturned a 1984 Court decision that ordered lower courts to defer to federal regulators' rulings rather than exercise their own independent judgment in cases where statutes are ambiguous or silent on key issues. The Court based its current ruling on the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act (APA) which explicitly directs the courts to use their own judgment.
President Clinton's Secretary of Labor Robert Reich called the reversal "a disaster. Federal regulators have the knowledge and expertise that judges and juries lack. This new Court ruling makes regulatory experts have to persuade a judge and jury they are right before they can impose restrictions, fines, or prison sentences for people who go against what the regulators say must be done. This is far less efficient than allowing Congress to simply delegate their lawmaking responsibility to the regulators to make the rules, prosecute, judge, and convict those who don't obey them."
Writing for the Court's majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said "the 1984 decision is contrary to the framers' understanding of our form of government. Under our Constitution it is the responsibility of Congress to enact the laws. If the statutes they enact do not clearly establish what the law intends it becomes the courts' responsibility to say what the law is, not an administrative agency of the executive branch. Persons who the administrative agencies seek to control or punish have the right to go to court to challenge the decisions of these agencies. Agencies have the burden of proving their actions are authorized by statutory law."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex) praised the Court, saying "the Chevron deference gave too much power to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. If we are to have a government of, by, and for the people those elected to represent the people in Congress must endeavor to enact laws that are clear and explicit. We cannot allow Congress to delegate our legislative powers to these bureaucrats."
If you missed any of the other Semi-News/Semi-Satire posts you can find them at...
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,536124.0.html
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