Date of Award
Spring 2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
Director of Thesis
Jessica Schoenherr
Second Reader
Rebecca Entress
Abstract
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. is one of the most cited Supreme Court cases in history, with over 18,000 citations in federal courts alone (Merrill, 2012). It has reached doctrinal status and was widely considered a vital precedent, one that guided the fields of environmental and administrative law. However, in June of 2024, the Supreme Court released their opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron. With the ubiquity of Chevron in US Courts, this decision caused widespread confusion and worry over what would replace the precedent. In an era where environmental policy is run by executive agencies, the answer to this question is vital to the future of conservation efforts in the US. In this paper, I examine the treatment of Chevron as a precedent in environmental Supreme Court opinions over time to determine what led to its overturn. In doing so, I discovered that Chevron has been plagued by controversy since its inception, and that it may not have ever constrained justice behavior. Further, the attitudes that led to Chevron’s overturn closely follow the ideological realignment of the court in the past twenty years.
First Page
1
Last Page
22
Recommended Citation
DeHart, Allison, "Deference or Preference: Analyzing the Treatment of Chevron U.S.A., INC. v. NRDC as a Precedent at the Supreme Court" (2025). Senior Theses. 787.
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/senior_theses/787
Rights
© 2025, Allison DeHart
Included in
Administrative Law Commons, Agency Commons, Constitutional Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Public Administration Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons