VOLUME 6 - 2013-2014 - ISSUE 2

6 Ky. J. Equine, Agric. & Nat. Resources L. 367 (2014).

DECKER V. NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: HOW JUDICIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY SAVED THE LOGGING INDUSTRY

Note Written By: Greg Jackson

On March 20, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center. With this decision, as Justice Scalia’s partial dissent correctly illustrates, the Supreme Court’s deference to an administrative agency’s interpretations of its own regulations continues to stray from the foundational principals of federalism embodied by the separation of powers doctrine and mandated by the United States Constitution. In doing so, however, the Court’s decision positively benefited society, preventing both the financial meltdown of the logging industry and a significant increase in unemployment.