The “major questions doctrine” used to be a narrow exception to federal courts’ traditional deference to regulatory agencies in interpreting the statutes they administer. But now, the exception has swallowed the rule, and courts appear ready to apply it to any case of importance, instead of only those that are “extraordinary.”
The result will likely be a restriction on federal agency power to act, and has the potential to create a dramatic shift in power from the executive to the judiciary.
More Topics Described as ‘Significant’
There are few Supreme Court decisions that actually use the specific phrase “major questions ...