ANOTHER BIG WIN FOR THE NCLA: In Landmark Victory for Civil Liberties, NCLA Persuades Supreme Court to Overturn Chevron Deference. “Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 6-3 to overturn the 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council case and with it the unconstitutional Chevron doctrine. It did so in the New Civil Liberties Alliance’s case, Relentless Inc. v. Dept. of Commerce, argued in tandem with Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo. The Court vacated and remanded the First Circuit’s decision that upheld a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring fishing companies like NCLA’s clients to pay for at-sea government monitors on their fishing boats. NCLA celebrates this monumental victory, which will curtail abuses of administrative power for years to come. . . . Concurring opinions discussed two core constitutional problems with Chevron deference that NCLA founder Philip Hamburger has long emphasized. First, employing such deference abandons a judge’s duty to provide independent judgment. Second, when a federal court defers to an agency’s legal interpretation, the litigants opposing that agency—like the fishermen opposing NOAA in Relentless—do not have their case judged by an impartial adjudicator, which violates the core constitutional promise of due process.”

Reminder/disclosure: I’m on the NCLA’s advisory board.