Prof. Hickman Cited By Fifth Circuit

Prof. Kristin E. Hickman's work on the Chevron doctrine, concerning judicial review of agency statutory interpretations, was cited by the Fifth Circuit in Ali v. Barr, No. 17-60604-CV0 (5th Cir. Feb. 24, 2020).  The case concerned a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) interpretation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The court had previously remanded the same case to allow the BIA to resolve the statutory question for itself analyzing statutory text and administrative precedents.  In this opinion, it labeled that earlier decision a "'Chevron Step Zero' decision," utilizing a term coined in Prof. Hickman's article with Thomas W. Merrill, Chevron's Domain, 89 Geo. L.J. 833 (2001).