In light of tomorrow's Supreme Court arguments about the administrative state, Mark Rienzi, professor at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law), published an article in National Review on January 12, 2024. Rienzi’s piece, entitled “Why One Group of Nuns Understands the Dangers of Administrative-State Overreach,” discusses the principles at stake in recent Supreme Court cases that concern the religious organization Little Sisters of the Poor and how these principles play into a recent trend of general administrative overreach.
Rienzi’s article is available here.
National Review
Date: January 12, 2024
By: Mark Rienzi
Why One Group of Nuns Understands the Dangers of Administrative-State Overreach
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A Supreme Court case about fishing regulations might have a big impact on . . . nuns? It’s all about whether courts let the administrative state off the hook. Next Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, a pair of cases challenging federal fishing regulations. The administrative rules at issue require the fishermen to transport — and pay for — federal agents to ride their boats and monitor their work. Because these rules were issued by regulatory agencies rather than Congress, the cases raise important questions about what is known as the Chevron doctrine — a judge-made rule that tells courts to defer to administrative agencies about the meaning of federal law.
At first glance, fishing regulation would seem to have nothing to do with the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Little Sisters are Catholic nuns who operate homes to care for the elderly poor. But like the fishermen in Loper Bright and Relentless, the Little Sisters have felt the sting of the administrative state. In fact, despite winning their own case three times at the Supreme Court so far, the Little Sisters’ litigation has now entered its second decade, largely thanks to the administrative state. That’s why it should be no surprise that the Little Sisters filed a brief supporting the fishermen and asking the Court to rein in administrative deference.
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