{"ID":63067,"name":"Kisor v. Wilkie","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2018\/18-15","view_count":0,"docket_number":"18-15","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"James L. Kisor","second_party":"Robert L. Wilkie","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1544421600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54395"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1553662800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54459"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1561525200],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54557"}],"lower_court":{"ID":17,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/17"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EPetitioner James L. Kisor is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in the Vietnam War. In 1982, Kisor filed a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) asserting that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of his service in Vietnam. Ultimately, the VA denied his claim in May 1983. In June 2006, Kisor sought review of his previously denied claim, and the VA granted him relief under 38 C.F.R. \u00a7 3.156(a), which allows a petitioner to \u201creopen\u201d a denial by \u201csubmitting new and material evidence.\u201d In his 2006 petition, Kisor identified materials supporting his claim that existed in 1983 but which were not associated with his file.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENotably, the VA did not grant Kisor relief under Section 3.156(c), which authorizes the agency to \u201creconsider\u201d a previously denied claim in the event that it \u201creceives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim.\u201d This provision is more favorable to veterans because it provides for a retroactive effective date for any benefits awarded, whereas benefits granted under Section 3.156(a) are effective only on the date the application to reopen was filed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe VA\u2019s decision (technically made by the Board of Veterans Appeals) relied on the meaning of the term \u201crelevant\u201d as used in 38 C.F.R. \u00a7 3.156(c)(1). The VA found that the additional documents (Kisor\u2019s Form 214 and the Combat History document) did not qualify as \u201crelevant\u201d for purposes of this section because it did not \u201csuggest or better yet establish that [petitioner] has PTSD as a current disability.\u201d In the VA\u2019s view, records are not \u201crelevant\u201d when they are not \u201coutcome determinative.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECourt of Appeals for Veterans Claims affirmed the Board\u2019s decision, and the Federal Circuit affirmed as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EShould \u003Cem\u003EAuer v. Robbins\u003C\/em\u003E, 519 U.S. 452 (1997), and \u003Cem\u003EBowles v. Seminole Rock \u0026amp; Sand Co.\u003C\/em\u003E, 325 U.S. 410 (1945), be overruled?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1996\/95-897\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAuer v. Robbins\u003C\/em\u003E, 519 U.S. 452 (1997)\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/325\/410\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBowles v. Seminole Rock \u0026amp; Sand Co.\u003C\/em\u003E, 325 U.S. 410 (1945)\u003C\/a\u003E\u2014which direct courts to give deference to an agency\u2019s reasonable reading of its own genuinely ambiguous regulations\u2014are not overruled.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Elena Kagan announced the judgment and delivered an opinion in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor joined. \u00a0Chief Justice Roberts joined in part, forming a majority of the Court for those parts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Kagan, writing for the 5-4 majority, first described the history of the case before it arrived before the Court.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen, writing for a four-justice plurality, she described other examples of ambiguous regulations and explained the history of the doctrine of \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E deference. She explained that \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E deference is \u201crooted in a presumption that Congress would generally want the agency to play the primary role in resolving regulatory ambiguities\u201d because agencies are best equipped to interpret the often-technical regulations at issue.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWriting again for the majority, Kagan continued to outline the requirements that must be met for Auer deference to apply:\u00a0First, a court should not afford an agency \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E deference unless the regulation is genuinely ambiguous, a determination the court can make only after it has exhausted all the traditional tools of construction. Second, the agency\u2019s reading must be reasonable, under the text, structure, and history of the regulation. Notwithstanding some courts\u2019 interpretation to the contrary, the language \u201cplainly erroneous\u201d from Seminole Rock does not mean that agency constructions of rules are entitled to greater deference than agency constructions of statutes. Third, the regulatory interpretation must be one actually made by the agency; that is, it must be the agency\u2019s authoritative or official position, not merely an ad hoc statement. Fourth, the interpretation must in some way implicate the agency\u2019s substantive expertise, and fifth, it must reflect \u201cfair and considered judgment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn behalf of the plurality, Kagan went on to address Kisor\u2019s arguments. She explained that \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E is not inconsistent with the judicial review provision of the APA, nor does it circumvent the APA\u2019s rulemaking requirements. Contrary to Kisor\u2019s arguments, Kagan cited empirical evidence to support her position that Auer does not encourage agencies to issue vague and open-ended interpretations of those rules they prefer. Finally, she quickly dispensed of Kisor\u2019s argument that it violates separation-of-powers principles.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn behalf of the majority, Kagan wrote that the doctrine of stare decisis cuts strongly against Kisor\u2019s position. There is no \u201cspecial justification\u201d to reverse \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E, and even if the Court were wrong about its presumption of what Congress would want, Congress can correct it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EApplying the principles outlined in the opinion, a redo is necessary for two reasons: The Federal Circuit \u201cjumped the gun\u201d in declaring the regulation ambiguous, and it also \u201cassumed too fast\u201d that Auer deference should apply in the event of genuine ambiguity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChief Justice Roberts wrote a separate concurrence in part to reiterate Justice Kagan\u2019s assertion that overturning \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E and \u003Cem\u003ESeminole Rock\u003C\/em\u003E was not warranted. He also noted that the cases in which Auer deference is appropriate largely overlap with cases in which it would be unreasonable for a court to be persuaded by an agency\u0027s interpretation of its own regulation. He pointed out that the gulf between the majority\u2019s position and Justice Gorsuch\u2019s dissent is not so great as it may initially appear.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Neil Gorsuch penned a separate opinion, in which Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh joined and Justice Samuel Alito joined in part, concurring in the judgment but highly critical of Justice Kagan\u2019s opinion. On behalf of himself and three other justices, Justice Gorsuch wrote a history of \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E deference, describing the decision and resulting doctrine \u201can accident.\u201d He went on to explain that \u003Cem\u003EAuer\u003C\/em\u003E is inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers principle. On behalf of himself and Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh, Justice Gorsuch responded to Justice Kagan\u2019s public policy considerations and argued that while the majority gave lip service to stare decisis, it effectively changed the test set forth in precedents\u2014which effectively overrules it in all but name.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Kavanaugh wrote a separate opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Alito joined. In his opinion, Justice Kavanaugh emphasizes two points: first, he reiterates the Chief Justice\u2019s point that \u201cthe distance between\u201d the two main opinions in this case \u201cis not as great as it may initially appear,\u201d and second, he expresses agreement with the Chief Justice that the decision in this case addresses only judicial deference to agency interpretations of their own regulations, and not at all judicial deference to agency interpretations of statutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":56059,"name":"Paul W. Hughes","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/paul_w_hughes","view_count":0,"last_name":"Hughes","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"paul_w_hughes"},"advocate_description":"for the petitioner","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/22673"},{"advocate":{"ID":37093,"name":"Noel J. 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