https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/07/ron-paul/supreme-court-takes-two-steps-forward-one-step-back/

By Ron Paul, MD
The Ron Paul Institute
July 30, 2024

We can all probably agree that this has been one of the strangest Julys in memory. From the attempt on Trump’s Life to the Republican National Convention to the bizarre “coup” against Biden in the Democratic Party. With all this, it’s easy to forget some truly momentous events that happened this month.

For example, the Supreme Court recently handed down three decisions of particular interest to defenders of individual liberty and limited, constitutional government. In two of these cases, the court limited the ability of federal agencies to exercise legislative and judicial authority. Unfortunately, in the third one the court refused to protect free speech from government officials.

In the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which dealt with federal regulations requiring commercial fishers to pay the costs of having federal inspectors on board their vessels, the Court overturned the Chevron deference. Created in the 1984 case of Chevron vs. Natural Resources Defense Council, Chevron deference requires federal courts to accept a federal agency’s interpretation of their statutorily granted powers as long as the agency’s interpretation is “reasonable’ and does not directly contradict federal statutes governing the agency.

The Chevon deference gives federal agencies almost unchecked authority to determine the scope of their authority. The agencies then enforce their interpretations of their powers via regulations. This combination of legislative and executive power violates the principle of separation of powers. Federal agencies also exercise judicial powers via the use of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), who are employees of the federal agencies, to adjudicate cases brought by the agencies against American citizens. Fortunately, the Supreme Court also limited the power of ALJs the case of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Jarkesy. In this case, the Court held that Congress violated the 7th Amendment right to a jury when it granted the SEC the power to impose fines on individuals accused of securities fraud.

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