March 21, 2016 โ George Will points out a glaring problem with Merrick Garlandโs Supreme Court nomination, namely Garlandโs excessive affection for the lamentable Chevron deference doctrine:
โChevron deferenceโ โฆ actually is germane to Garland. He is the most important member (chief judge) of the nationโs second-most important court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the importance of which derives primarily from its caseload of regulatory challenges. There Garland has practiced what too many conservatives have preached โ โdeferenceโ in the name of โjudicial restraintโ toward Congress, and toward the executive branch and its appendages in administering congressional enactments. Named for a 1984 case, Chevron deference unleashes the regulatory state by saying that agencies charged with administering statutes are entitled to deference when they interpret supposedly ambiguous statutory language.