Administrative Law & Supreme Court: Independent Agencies on Trial

For decades, the legitimacy and value of so-called independent agencies have been the focus of intense scholarly debate. While some claim that they’re an essential check on the dictates of an increasingly imperial presidency, others argue that they undermine executive accountability and violate the constitutional separation of powers.

The latter position was forcefully advocated by panelists last week at the Federalist Society’s annual Executive Branch Review Conference in D.C., where lawyers from around the country gathered to discuss the future of the administrative state. A breakout panel, “The Administrative State on Trial?,” centered on forthcoming Supreme Court cases that deal with administrative law, “the constitutional questions raised by these cases, the potential effect of the Court’s decisions on agency structure and practices, the rebalancing of power between the three branches, and the future of the administrative state.” During this timely, wide-ranging conversation, the fate of independent agencies was a major topic of discussion.

About the Author

Bobby Miller

Bobby Miller is an ISI Fellow at National Review and a graduate student at Georgetown University.

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For decades, the legitimacy and value of so-called independent agencies have been the focus of intense scholarly debate. While some claim that they’re an essential check on the dictates of an increasingly imperial presidency, others argue that they undermine executive accountability and violate the constitutional separation of powers.

The latter position was forcefully advocated by panelists last week at the Federalist Society’s annual Executive Branch Review Conference in D.C., where lawyers from around the country gathered to discuss the future of the administrative state. A breakout panel, “The Administrative State on Trial?,” centered on forthcoming Supreme Court cases that deal with administrative law, “the constitutional questions raised by these cases, the potential effect of the Court’s decisions on agency structure and practices, the rebalancing of power between the three branches, and the future of the administrative state.” During this timely, wide-ranging conversation, the fate of independent agencies was a major topic of discussion.