NCJ Number
167424
Journal
Judicature Volume: 80 Issue: 3 Dated: (November-December 1996) Pages: 130-137
Date Published
1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Administrative agency actions are subject to review by the U.S. Supreme Court, but an analysis of data from 1953-91 revealed that the Court rarely reviews these actions and usually supports the agency when it does.
Abstract
The data came from the U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Database. The results revealed that the Court issued more than 1,500 decisions about Federal agency policies of 93 agencies between 1953 and 1991. Review was a rare experience for most of these agencies. The Court issued more than 28 decisions for only 15 agencies; these decisions represented 2 percent of all decisions about regulations. The Court supported a majority of agency rules and regulations regardless of the liberal or conservative ideology of the agency policies. The support of liberal agency actions at a rate of 74 percent was nearly 11 percent greater than its support for conservative ones. The support rate for agency actions has varied over time. That data also suggested that the justices' political ideologies influenced their support of agency actions. Tables and footnotes