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Full-Text Articles in Law

Getting Past Democracy, Edward L. Rubin Jan 2001

Getting Past Democracy, Edward L. Rubin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The tension between our concept of democracy and the government we actually possess is well known, despite our insistent efforts to claim that the term "democracy" accurately describes our governmental system. One area where this tension has been apparent is American constitutionalism. The conflict between our concept of democracy and the institution of judicial review became a political issue when the Supreme Court placed itself in opposition to Progressive Era and New Deal legislation. This same conflict subsequently served as a central concern of the Legal Process School, which indelibly characterized it as the "counter-majoritarian difficulty."' The more far-reaching and …


Bargaining In The Shadow Of Administrative Procedure: The Public Interest In Rulemaking Settlement, Jim Rossi Jan 2001

Bargaining In The Shadow Of Administrative Procedure: The Public Interest In Rulemaking Settlement, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article addresses problems associated with settlement of appeals of legislative rules adopted by administrative agencies. Settlement is a common and important tool for avoiding litigation, but it also raises potential problems for administrative law. In particular, to the extent that an appellate litigation posture poses a principal/agent gap, an agency's incentives to settle may lead it to abandon its public interest goals, otherwise protected by statutory mandates as well as administrative procedures. The problem is most salient when an agency agrees to a substantive policy position in a settlement, committing the agency to later implement a policy course. To …


Respecting Deference: Conceptualizing Skidmore Within The Architecture Of Chevron, Jim Rossi Jan 2001

Respecting Deference: Conceptualizing Skidmore Within The Architecture Of Chevron, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article addresses critically the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Christensen v. Harris County, 120 S.Ct. 1655 (2000), for standards of judicial review of agency interpretations of law. Christensen is a notable case in the administrative law area because it purports to clarify application of the deference doctrine first articulated in Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134 (1944). By reviving this doctrine, the case narrows application of the predominant approach to deference articulated in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), thus reducing the level of deference in …