The Past, Present and Future of Auer Deference: Mead, Form and Function in Judicial Review of Agency Interpretations of Regulations

Abstract

The law of judicial review of agency legal interpretations has undergone an important reshaping as a consequence of the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Mead Corp. 1 That decision and the important follow-on decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Ass’n v. Brand X Internet Services 2 have changed the understanding of the Court’s landmark 1984 decision in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 3 Chevron defined a new era of judicial deference to an agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute, 4 but the Chevron era has itself been transformed. 5