US Supreme Court overrules Chevron doctrine

The court's 6-3 ruling on Friday overturned a 1984 decision colloquially known as Chevron that has instructed lower courts to defer to federal agencies when laws passed by Congress are not crystal clear.

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the decades-old Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to a federal agency's interpretation of an ambiguous statute.

Relentless v. Department of Commerce, a pair of consolidated cases asking the Court to reverse its seminal decision in Chevron v. NRDC. As expected following oral argument, the Court accepted the invitation and overruled Chevron in a 6–3 decision.

The Chevron doctrine, established in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., directed courts to defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute that it administers.