DeepSummary
The podcast episode discusses recent Supreme Court decisions that deal a blow to administrative agencies and the administrative state. The cases of Ohio v. EPA and SEC v. Jarkesy are analyzed, with the former striking down the EPA's Good Neighbor Rule on regulating interstate air pollution, and the latter restricting the SEC's ability to enforce civil penalties against securities fraud without involving federal courts.
The episode delves into the broader implications of these rulings, which are seen as part of a larger conservative legal movement to dismantle the administrative state and shift power away from agencies towards the courts. The decisions are criticized as offending the constitutional separation of powers and arrogating Congress's policymaking role to the Supreme Court.
The guests discuss how these rulings fit into the broader "Project 2025" effort to limit agency power, and how they will affect not just the EPA and SEC, but numerous other agencies tasked with enforcing civil penalties. The episode portrays the decisions as part of an anti-regulatory, pro-billionaire agenda that will make it harder for agencies to function and govern effectively.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Recent Supreme Court decisions like Ohio v. EPA and SEC v. Jarkesy represent a blow to administrative agencies and the administrative state.
- These rulings are part of a broader conservative legal movement aimed at deconstructing and limiting the power of administrative agencies.
- The decisions shift authority away from Congress and agencies towards the courts, violating separation of powers.
- They make it harder for agencies to enforce regulations and civil penalties, favoring business interests and billionaires.
- The court is imposing heightened scrutiny and additional constraints on how agencies operate and interpret statutes.
- This anti-regulatory agenda is decried as undermining effective governance to address modern problems.
- More decisions further limiting agency power may come in the remaining "Chevron" cases this term.
- The rulings reflect the conservative legal movement's long-term project to reshape administrative law and judicial power.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The Supreme Court's always saying, go, go get a new statute. Well, this is a new statute.“ by Lisa Heinzerling
- “Put simply, the Supreme Court itself is gobbling up power reserved to the other branches, and in doing so, violating the Constitution itself.“ by Mark Joseph Stern (quoting Justice Sotomayor's dissent)
- “The Supreme Court is taking on the way that we appoint personnel, the way we remove agency personnel, the way that statutes should be interpreted. Thursday, it took on the requirement that agencies explain themselves and really beef that up, so that in all these ways, it's just making agencies work harder.“ by Lisa Heinzerling
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Episode Information
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts
Slate Podcasts
6/27/24