How the Overturning of Chevron Affected Government Agencies
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Date
2025-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
This thesis looks at how the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo changed the legal system by ending the Chevron doctrine. This shift gave more power to federal courts and took power away from government agencies when it comes to interpreting unclear laws. Using a dataset of 173 federal court cases decided before and after the ruling, the study finds that agency win rates increased by 8.5% after Loper Bright. This was surprising, since many expected agencies to lose more often. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was originally the main focus of this project. However after my research I learned it was not strongly affected, since most of the legal cases it faces are based on the Constitution rather than how it interprets laws. The Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), had the most cases in the dataset, with 45 in total and saw its win rate increase by 14.6%. These results show that even though courts now have more control, they still agree with agency decisions in many cases. Still, the end of Chevron may lead to less consistent rulings, more variation between judges, and less reliance on expert agencies. This could affect complex areas like immigration, labor, and environmental policy. The thesis also explores how this change might shift the balance of power in government, increase political influence in courts, and change how agencies operate in the future.
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Chevron Doctrine, Administrative Law, Statutory Interpretation, Immigration