The Chevron Doctrine

Its Rise and Fall, and the Future of the Administrative State

Thomas W Merrill author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Harvard University Press

Published:30th Aug '24

Should be back in stock very soon

The Chevron Doctrine cover

“Wise and illuminating…Merrill’s treatment of the rise of Chevron, and its various twists and turns over the decades, is keenly insightful.” —Cass R. Sunstein, New York Review of Books

“Merrill is one of the brightest and best scholars of administrative law in his generation. This book...is must-reading for any citizen who has an interest in the constitutionality of the administrative state.” —Steven G. Calabresi, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

“A model of how to conduct rigorous, level-headed, and fair-minded analysis of a subject that has generated enormous legal controversy. There is no more judicious mind among American legal scholars than Thomas Merrill’s.”—Nicholas Parrillo, Yale Law School

“A must-read for practicing or prospective administrative lawyers. They, as well as a broader audience, will find much good sense in the author’s judicious treatment of perennial questions of lawful government.”—Michael S. Greve, Claremont Review of Books

The Constitution makes Congress the principal federal lawmaker. But for a variety of reasons, including partisan gridlock, Congress increasingly fails to keep up with the challenges facing our society. Power has shifted to the executive branch agencies that interpret laws and to the courts that review their interpretations.

Since the Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, this judicial review has been highly deferential: courts must uphold agency interpretations of unclear laws so long as these are “reasonable.” But the Chevron doctrine faces backlash from constitutional scholars and, now, from Supreme Court justices who insist that courts, not administrative agencies, have the authority to say what the law is. Critics of the administrative state charge that Chevron deference enables unaccountable bureaucratic power. In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Merrill reviews the history and consequences of the Chevron doctrine and suggests a way forward.

Wise and illuminating…Merrill’s treatment of the rise of Chevron, and its various twists and turns over the decades, is keenly insightful. -- Cass R. Sunstein * New York Review of Books *
Merrill’s book tracks the doctrine’s history from its curious origins through its unlikely rise and expansion in a hundred-plus Supreme Court decisions to the fairly recent ‘sudden collapse of support for the doctrine’ among legal scholars and judges. His chapters on Chevron’s tortuous trajectory are a must-read for practicing or prospective administrative lawyers. They, as well as a broader audience, will find much good sense in the author’s judicious treatment of perennial questions of lawful government. -- Michael S. Greve * Claremont Review of Books *
Merrill has provided a rich account of how the Chevron doctrine came to be…A thorough and theoretically sophisticated legal analysis. -- William F. West * Congress & the Presidency *
Merrill’s rich history, his weighing of the comparative advantages of judicial and agency lawmaking, and his reflections on judicial and political choices to date provide informative guideposts for future decisions. * Choice *
Students of administrative law, the Constitution, Congress, or the federal courts will find much to mull about the operation and legitimacy of the U.S. administrative state. * Library Journal *
Merrill’s interpretive and reform arguments in this fine work of scholarship are mature and sophisticated. This deeply considered work will enrich the ongoing debate. -- Ronald M. Levin, Washington University School of Law
Tom Merrill is one of the best scholars in the nation to undertake a book-length treatment of the Chevron doctrine. Thoughtful and nuanced, Merrill’s The Chevron Doctrine will be a ‘must-read’ not only for any lawyer or scholar involved in the field of administrative law, but also for any scholar interested in American legal thought of the past half century. -- John F. Duffy, University of Virginia School of Law
This book is a model of how to conduct rigorous, level-headed, and fair-minded analysis of a subject that has generated enormous legal controversy. There is no more judicious mind among American legal scholars than Thomas Merrill’s. -- Nicholas Parrillo, Yale Law School
Tom Merrill is one of the brightest and best scholars of administrative law, and in particular of the Chevron doctrine, in his generation. This book sheds new light on the most controversial subjects in the law of the separation of powers and in administrative law. It is must-reading for any citizen who has an interest in the constitutionality of the administrative state. -- Steven G. Calabresi, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

ISBN: 9780674297340

Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 24mm

Weight: 471g

368 pages