Prof. Kristin Hickman Quoted in Washington Post About Current U.S. Supreme Court Case and “Chevron Deference”

Professor Kristin Hickman was quoted in the Washington Post about a case being heard this week by the U.S. Supreme Court and how “Chevron Deference” may have implications. For 40 years, courts have generally deferred to the judgment of federal agencies when it comes to turning laws passed by Congress into detailed regulations designed to protect the environment, consumers, and the workplace. But as the court has moved to the right in recent years, the conservative majority has been less likely to invoke that ruling, which outside groups have long seen as giving unaccountable bureaucrats too much power. Professor Hickman said the court may stop short of scrapping precedent. She said, “Let's be real, the courts are not best suited for making those kinds of policy choices. If you left it to all the lower courts, you would end up with a lot of inconsistency. That's not helpful for people trying to comply with regulations when you’re talking about the national economy.”