Development of

Administrative Law

History of administrative law• 1776 – 1886 – Limited powers delegated to

agencies• 1887 – First administrative law establishing the

Interstate Commerce Commission.• 1887-1929 – Other agencies with similar enabling

acts and remaking powers created.• 1930 – 1950 – With the expansion of newly

created agencies as a result of the Great Depression, court challenges resulted to review administrative law and limit powers of agencies

• 1951 – Present – Agencies extended more power due to technical expertise (public interest vs. private industry)

Delegation Doctrine• Legal theory that proposes that the legislature

may make laws and may convey the power of law-making to others.

• The delegation of power to an administrative agency occurs when the agency receives legislative powers or rule-making and judicial powers of hearing cases and making decisions.

Application of the Delegation Doctrine• Powers are delegated to agencies because

legislatures and courts are unable to handle the volume of work and neither has the expertise in area of specialty.

• Legislatures direct agencies in enacting laws by establishing guidelines that must be followed, thus limiting power.

Delegation Doctrine – Practical Theory

Delegate Power LegislaturePeopleDelegates

Limited Power

AgenciesServe People

Application of the Delegation Doctrine• Agencies develop standards through rules

and regulations based on legislative guidelines.

• United States v. Grimaud, 220 U.S. 506 (1911)o Case involving the saving of land for the nation’s forests.

Defendants were accused of violating Regulation 45 by grazing sheep without a permit.

o Secretary of Agriculture was charged with the authority to make rules and regulations to preserve the forests from destruction. Required individuals to secure permits before grazing any stock in a forest reserve.

o The Court upheld agency’s right to make rules and regulations.

Disputed Delegation• Occurs when delegation by Congress (legislature)

does not accompany sufficient standards• According to S. Ct in Eastlake v. Forest City

Enters., 426 US 668 (1976), “a Congressional delegation of power…must be accompanied by discernible standards, so that the delegate’s actions may be measured by fidelity to the legislative will.”

• Cases, in which struck down delegation:o Panama Refining (1935)o Schechter (1935)o Carter (1936)

Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, 293 US 388 (1935)• Also known as the Hot Oil case. The S. Ct. ruling

that overturned key elements of the New Deal legislative program under the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933.

• Section 9c of the NIRA provided the President with the power to prohibit the interstate and foreign trade of petroleum goods produced in excess of state quotas.

• Court found that Congress violated the delegation doctrine by vesting the President with legislative powers without clear guidelines.

A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 US 495 (1935)• S. Ct declared unconstitutional the Live Poultry

Code, Section 3 of the NIRA, which gave the president the authority to approve “codes of unfair competition” that were drafted by the businesses themselves

• Schechter was charged with violating the code by selling unfit chickens, illegally selling chickens on an individual basis, avoiding inspections, falsifying records, and selling poultry to unlicensed purchasers.

• Court held that the president lack the power to write the code, as all legislative power is to be vested in Congress.

Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 US 238 (1936)• Court found the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act

of 1935 unconstitutional because Congress went beyond its powers.

• The Act regulated prices, minimum wages, maximum hours and “fair practices” of the coal industry. Tax refunds were established as incentives to abide by the regulations.

• Congress did not have the right to regulate manufacturing under the guise of regulating commerce.

Separation of Powers• Theory of government, in which powers are

separated into three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent the usurpation of power by one group or one person.

• The Constitution provides:o Legislative branch creates the lawso Judicial branch settles disputes concerning the

lawso Executive branch manages the staff and

programs necessary in carrying out the laws

Separation of Powers

Legislative

Judicial

Executive

Federalism• In addition to requiring the powers of government

to be split into three branches, the Constitution requires two distinct forms of government that will be equal:o National (federal) and state government

system.

• Federalism is the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national (federal) and state governments.

Role of Each Branch in Administrative Agencies• Independence of the branches

o Executive – manages government programs, administers government agencies, and implements the laws

o Legislative – makes the lawso Judicial – interprets the laws by settling disputes about he laws in

various court systems (federal, state, local)

• Checks and balances on the brancheso Each branch acts as a check against encroaching power-grabbing by

another branch to keep the balance of power.

• Conflict of overlapping powero Legislative provides money to agencieso Executive develops programs and seeks legislation to solve problemso Judicial decides if a matter brought to its attention is subject to judicial

review.

Powers of Government and Agencies

Manage Problems

Makes laws or rules

Review legal disputes

ExecutiveX

LegislativeX

JudicialX

AgenciesX X X

Intelligible Principle• Principle that provides that the legislature give an

agency guidelines from which to make specific laws and criteria to set standards.

• Mistretta v. United States, 488 US 361 (1989)o Questioned the delegation of authority to the U.S. Sentencing

Commission to research prison sentences and to draft prison sentencing guidelines for federal judges.

o Court upheld the delegation on three major grounds:• Congress had created a starting point of current sentencing

averages;• Congress determined the sentencing goals; and• Congress ordered statutory minimums and maximums to be

followed as guidelines.

Assignment – September 22, 2011• Read Chapter 3• Review the following cases:oCitizens to Preserve Overton Park,

Inc. v. Volpe, 401 US 402 (1971)oHeckler v. Chaney, 470 US 821

(1985)

Reminder !!!!!!• Test next week, September 15, 2011 over Chapters 1 and 2