<strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong>: “Chevron Seems No Less Than A Judge-Made Doctrine For The Abdication Of Judicial Duty.” According to SNL Electric Utility Report, “Like several U.S. Supreme Court justices before him, a federal appeals judge - who also is the son of the first female U.S. EPA head - has argued that the courts should not be so quick to offer so-called ‘Chevron deference’ to federal agencies’ interpretations of statutory language. ‘Chevron seems no less than a judge-made doctrine for the abdication of judicial duty,’ Judge <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>McGill</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit wrote in an Aug. 23 concurring opinion. The push for reform is significant, because if courts become more reluctant to defer to federal agencies, the U.S. EPA, FERC and other regulators could have a far more difficult time implementing controversial new rules.” [SNL Electric Utility Report, 9/5/16] <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Said The “Chevron Doctrine” Allowed “Executive Bureaucracies To Swallow Huge Amounts Of Core Judicial And Legislative Power And Concentrate Federal Power.” According to SNL Electric Utility Report, “<strong>Gorsuch</strong> , the son of Reagan-era U.S. EPA Administrator Anne <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Burford, has added his voice to the debate. Diving deep into the issue, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> took specific aim at what he described as the executive branch’s use of Chevron deference to overrule judicial precedent when interpreting a congressional statute. The case before the 10th Circuit - Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Loretta Lynch (No. 14-9585) - was complicated, involving the residency of undocumented immigrants and the question of whether an agency can apply its interpretation of the law retrospectively. ‘There’s an elephant in the room with us today,’ wrote <strong>Gorsuch</strong> in his opinion. Chevron allows ‘executive bureaucracies to swallow huge amounts of core judicial and legislative power and concentrate federal power in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution of the framers’ design,’ the judge said. ‘Maybe the time has come to face the behemoth.’” [SNL Electric Utility Report, 9/5/16] <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Said The “Chevron Doctrine” Allowed Executive Agencies To “Tell Us To Reverse Our Decision Like Some Sort Of Super Court Of Appeals.” According to SNL Electric Utility Report, “Asserting that the country’s founders considered the separation of powers to be ‘a vital guard against governmental encroachment on the people’s liberties,’ <strong>Gorsuch</strong> said the executive agency involved in the case was allowed to ‘tell us to reverse our decision like some sort of super court of appeals.’ ‘If that doesn’t qualify as an unconstitutional revision of a judicial declaration of the law by a political branch, I confess I begin to wonder whether we’ve forgotten what might,’ the judge wrote.” [SNL Electric Utility Report, 9/5/16] <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Said That When Congress Disagrees With A Judicial Interpretation Of Existing Law, Its Solution Should Be To Change The Law Through The Legislative Process. According to SNL Electric Utility Report, “Under the process outlined in the Constitution, the solution when the political branch disagrees with a judicial interpretation of existing law is for Congress to change the law, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> maintained. ‘Admittedly, the legislative process can be an arduous one,’ the judge continued. ‘But that’s no bug in the constitutional design: it is the very point of the design. The framers sought to ensure that the people may rely on judicial precedent about the meaning of existing law until and unless that precedent is overruled or the purposefully painful process of bicameralism and presentment can be cleared.’” [SNL Electric Utility Report, 9/5/16] <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Said That If The “Chevron Doctrine” Were Abandoned, “Very Little Would Change- Except Perhaps The Most Important Things.” According to SNL Electric Utility Report, “Finally, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> predicted that if Chevron, ‘this goliath of modern administrative law,’ were abandoned, ‘very little would change - except perhaps the most important things.’ For instance, he said Congress would continue to pass statutes for executive agencies to enforce, and agencies would continue to offer guidance on how they intend to enforce those statutes. ‘The only difference would be that courts would then fulfill their duty to exercise their independent judgment about what the law is ... consult agency views and apply the agency’s interpretation when it accords with the best reading of a statute,’ <strong>Gorsuch</strong> wrote.” [SNL Electric Utility Report, 9/5/16] <strong>Gorsuch</strong>’s Opposition To The Chevron Doctrine Differed From Scalia Heartland Institute Executive Editor Justin Haskins Noted That <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Opposed The “Chevron Deference,” A Legal Principle Giving Power To Government Agencies When A Law Is Considered Ambiguous, Unlike Justice Scalia. According to Las Vegas Sun, “At 49, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> is five years younger than Pryor and isn’t without controversies of his own. A graduate of Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> is an avid believer in restricting the power of regulatory agencies, a decision many environmental organizations would find particularly concerning. On that front, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> may be more conservative than Scalia. For instance, <strong>Gorsuch</strong> opposes what’s known in administrative law as ‘Chevron deference,’ a legal principle giving power to government agencies when a law is considered ambiguous. Although Scalia often opposed agencies imposing expansive regulations on individuals and businesses, he was a big defender of Chevron, one of the few issues on which many limited-government advocates disagreed with Scalia.” [Justin Haskins Op-Ed, Las Vegas Sun, 1/29/17] 71
Judicial Reform PROPONENT OF ACCESSIBILITY AND SIMPLIFICATION Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice, Rebecca Kourlis, Said <strong>Neil</strong> <strong>Gorsuch</strong> Is A Notable Advocate For Simplifying The Justice System To Make It More Accessible. According to AP, “He is the son of The son of President Ronald Reagan’s Environmental Protection Agency chief, Anne <strong>Gorsuch</strong> . He worked for two years in Bush’s Justice Department before Bush appointed him to his appeals court seat. He was confirmed by a voice vote in 2006. <strong>Gorsuch</strong> has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit, according to Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice. <strong>Gorsuch</strong> also is a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible, Kourlis said. <strong>Gorsuch</strong> is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorado’s law school in Boulder.” [AP, 1/29/17] 72
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