TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 26, 2019
The legal drive to rein in the power of federal regulators hit an unexpected stumbling block yesterday as the Supreme Court narrowly rejected an opportunity to overturn Auer deference, a precedent in which courts let federal agencies interpret their own regulations, Politico reports. The case involved a challenge to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ partial denial of retroactive benefits to a Vietnam War veteran. An appeals court deferred to the VA’s decision, but after the high court ruling, Kisor’s claim will be sent back down for another review. Chief Justice John Roberts split with his Republican-appointed colleagues by refusing to strike down the longstanding legal rule. In his criticism of the decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that Auer deference remained an affront to the role of judges and to the public’s right to know — in advance — what legal standard it is bound by.