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No. 22-1219October Term 2023Decided Jun 28, 2024

Docket 22-1219October Term 2023 (2023–2024)

Relentless, Inc. v. Dept. of Commerce

This case challenged a federal regulation requiring herring fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors, but ultimately served as the vehicle for the Supreme Court to overrule the Chevron deference doctrine.

Case status

Current stage
Decided
Latest event
Decision released Jun 28, 2024
Case Accepted
Arguments HeardJan 17, 2024
Decision ReleasedJun 28, 2024
What it's about

This case challenged a federal regulation requiring herring fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors, but ultimately served as the vehicle for the Supreme Court to overrule the Chevron deference doctrine. The Court held that the Administrative Procedure Act requires judges to exercise independent judgment when interpreting statutes rather than deferring to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations of ambiguous laws.

Question presented

1. Should Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council be overruled? 2. Does statutory silence concerning controversial powers expressly but narrowly granted elsewhere in the statute constitute an ambiguity requiring deference to the agency?

Case path

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit / Decision released Jun 28, 2024

Area

Administrative Law

Grounding

Grounding
Primary-source trail available.
Note
Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
Checked
Mar 30, 2026
Primary materials5