Twice in two days, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has issued sweeping rulings that go against established precedents and will hamper the ability of regulators to impose rules on powerful business interests.
On Friday, the six Republican-appointed justices struck down a 40-year-old cornerstone of administrative law called the Chevron Doctrine. The doctrine makes it easier to successfully challenge regulations in court by eliminating the requirement that courts rely on the expertise of federal agencies in interpreting their laws.
A day earlier, the justices had rejected a major practice by many agencies. This practice involves enforcing rules through internal courts, rather than trying accused criminals in federal court before juries.
