Worksheet 23.3: Judicial Deference to Agency Decisions & Public Accountability

1. Under the Chevron standard, courts should defer to an agency's interpretation of law and of fact.

2. The Chevron standard requires the court to ask two questions: first, did Congress ___ address the issue in dispute? If so, the statutory language ___ . If the statute is ___ or ambiguous, is the agency's interpretation of it ___ ? If so, the court should give deference to the agency's interpretation.

3. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, a court must give Chevron deference to an agency interpretation if it has gone through the:

4. The Freedom of Information Act ___ the government to disclose certain records to any person on request, even without the requester supplying a reason.

5. Select two categories of records that are exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

6. The Government in the Sunshine Act ___ all agency meetings to be ___ to the public, unless they meet certain criteria. If a person is going to be ___ , if ___ agency action would be frustrated, or if the meeting involves ___ litigation or rule-making, then the meeting may be ___.

7. Which law requires the government to reassess the impact on business and continue to look for less burdensome means of achieving a governmental goal?

8. The Regulatory Flexibility Act relieved small businesses of certain record-keeping requirements under agency rules and federal statutes.

9. The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act gives Congress ___ days to review new federal regulations to be sure that they do not unduly burden small businesses.