Bid To Swap Chevron For An Old Standby Raises Doubts

Kevin King’s commentary was included in a Law360 article examining whether the Supreme Court could use a World War II-era doctrine encouraging courts to strongly consider agency statutory interpretations to replace the court's controversial so-called Chevron doctrine that requires judges to defer to those interpretations if a statute is ambiguous.

Kevin commented on how this new doctrine, known as the Skidmore doctrine, will affect agency actions going forward. “The level of respect a court gives to an agency interpretation will vary among judges, and potentially require more Skidmore doctrine guidance from circuit courts and the Supreme Court,” Kevin said. “There's potential for lack of uniformity geographically. The law might be different in Texas than it is in California.”