Dear Friend,

Today, the Supreme Court made it much harder for the federal government to effectively regulate.

What started as a case concerning a New Jersey fishing company turned into yet another Supreme Court power grab. The conservative supermajority has once again shifted the balance of power away from the elected branches of government and to the courts.

READ MORE: [link removed]

The case is called Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and this is why it matters:

Congress passes laws, and federal agencies carry them out. Under a long-settled legal rule called the Chevron deference doctrine, when a law is ambiguous and the agency charged with administering it has interpreted it in a reasonable way, judges are supposed to defer to the agency. This allows professional and politically accountable staff at administrative agencies to apply their expertise to craft effective policies.

In short, the Supreme Court's decision today gives unelected judges – not scientists and experts in the field – the primary role in deciding how to interpret and implement our environmental laws.

In Loper Bright, a small fishing company asked the Supreme Court to overturn this doctrine in the context of a challenge to government regulations that protect U.S. fisheries. The company received free legal services from a law firm backed by powerful corporate interests like Koch Industries. 

Today’s ruling will encourage industries to take advantage of the changed landscape to challenge regulations they don’t like before judges who will be empowered and emboldened to second-guess federal agencies.

This ruling threatens our ocean ecosystems and healthy fish stocks that fishermen rely on to stay in business. But it also threatens the legitimacy of government rules and standards that keep our air clean, medications safe, transportation less dangerous, and countless other aspects of daily life, big and small.

While today’s decision is not what we hoped for, know that we will keep fighting for clean air, clean water and a healthy environment for all.

Read more about the decision and our response: [link removed]

Thank you for your partnership.


Sincerely,
Sam Sankar
Senior Vice President of Litigation
Earthjustice



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