Nebraska Law Review

Article Title

A Dubious Proposition of Law: Why Judicial Deference to Agency Interpretations of Regulations Is at Odds with Nebraska Law

Authors

Trevor J. Rogers, University of Nebraska College of Law

Abstract

CONTENTS

I. Introduction . . 615

II. Background . 617

A. Historical Backdrop: Nebraska Case Law . 617

B. Historical Backdrop: Federal Law . 617

C. History of Nebraska’s APA, Scope of Review, and

Questions of Law . . 619

D. Nebraska in Context . 621

III. Why Deference Matters . 622

IV. The Defenses of Deference . . 624

A. Assuming Congress Intended for Agencies to Resolve Ambiguities in Regulations, or Even Statutes, is a Bad Assumption . . 626

B. The Kisor Defense Lacks a Connection to the Federal APA . . 628

C. Rethinking Agency Expertise . 630

D. Uniform Interpretations of Law Are Inapplicable in Nebraska . . 632

V. Tension in Nebraska Law . . 632

A. Nebraska’s APA Requires De Novo Review . 633

B. The Meaning of Regulations Is a Question of Law and Nebraska Appellate Courts Must Independently Review Questions of Law . . 635

C. Deference Renders the De Novo Review Requirement Superfluous . . 636

D. No Deference Is Given to Agency Interpretations of Statutes . . . 637

E. Judicial Deference to Agency Interpretations of Regulations Violates Nebraska’s Constitutional Guarantee of the Separation of Powers . 638

VI. Conclusion . . 639

Recommended Citation

Trevor J. Rogers, A Dubious Proposition of Law: Why Judicial Deference to Agency Interpretations of Regulations Is at Odds with Nebraska Law, 101 Neb. L. Rev. (2022)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol101/iss2/12