Tag: Justice Elena Kagan

With the demise of Chevron deference, will the courts now turn to Skidmore?

In Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned the 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference (see this PubCo post), SCOTUS highlighted the continued relevance of the doctrine articulated in Skidmore v. Swift & Co., often described as a principle of appropriate “respect” for agency interpretations, but something less than deference—i.e., the court must still be persuaded.  The doctrine of Chevron deference, as you know, mandated that, if a statute did not directly address the “precise question at issue” or if there was ambiguity in how to interpret the statute, courts had to accept an agency’s reasonable interpretation of a law unless it was arbitrary or manifestly contrary to the statute. In Loper Bright, SCOTUS made clear that, while Chevron deference might now be toast, courts could still, in exercising their independent judgment in determining the meaning of statutory provisions, “seek aid from the interpretations of those responsible for implementing particular statutes,” citing Skidmore.  Will Skidmore be the new go-to doctrine for courts adjudicating agency regulations?  Not so far, according to this new article from Bloomberg.