SCOTUS revisit - Overrules Chevron Deference (Blog 2/9)

JUSTICE THOMAS, concurring. “Chevron deference also violates our Constitution’s separation of powers.” “The Framers drafted a Constitution that divides the legislative, executive, and judicial powers between three branches of Government. Chevron deference compromises this separation of powers in two ways. It curbs the judicial power afforded to courts, and simultaneously expands agencies’ executive power beyond constitutional limits.”

Another quote from Justice Thomas can be compared to the ‘lawfare’ we all witnessed recently; “Chevron deference also permits the Executive Branch to exercise powers not given to it. “When the Government is called upon to perform a function that requires an exercise of legislative, executive, or judicial power, only the vested recipient of that power can perform it.”

JUSTICE GORSUCH, concurring. “With time, the error of this approach became widely appreciated. So much so that this Court has refused to apply Chevron deference since 2016. Today, the Court places a tombstone on Chevron no one can miss. In doing so, the Court returns judges to interpretive rules that have guided federal courts since the Nation’s founding.”

JUSTICE KAGAN, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and JUSTICE JACKSON join dissenting. “A rule of judicial humility gives way to a rule of judicial hubris. In recent years, this Court has too often taken for itself decision-making authority Congress assigned to agencies. The Court has substituted its own judgment on workplace health for that of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; its own judgment on climate change for that of the Environmental Protection Agency; and its own judgment on student loans for that of the Department of Education.”

Personally, this SCOTUS decision when combined with SCOTUS May 25, 2023 decision removing isolated wetlands from CWA protections (Blog 3/01), and here in the State of Florida the February 15th Moss ruling (Blog 2/23) it appears the Courts are empowering private landowners to develop by removing hurdles.