History of administrative law
• 1776 – 1886 – Limited powers delegated to
• 1887 – First administrative law establishing the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
• 1887-1929 – Other agencies with similar enabling
acts and remaking powers created.
• 1930 – 1950 – With the expansion of newly created
agencies as a result of the Great Depression, court
challenges resulted to review administrative law
and limit powers of agencies
• 1951 – Present – Agencies extended more power
due to technical expertise (public interest vs.
• Legal theory that proposes that the legislature may
make laws and may convey the power of law-
making to others.
• The delegation of power to an administrative
agency occurs when the agency receives
legislative powers or rule-making and judicial
powers of hearing cases and making decisions.
Application of the Delegation
• Powers are delegated to agencies because
legislatures and courts are unable to handle the
volume of work and neither has the expertise in
area of specialty.
• Legislatures direct agencies in enacting laws by
establishing guidelines that must be followed, thus
Delegation Doctrine –
Delegate Power LegislaturePeople
Application of the Delegation
• Agencies develop standards through rules
and regulations based on legislative
• United States v. Grimaud, 220 U.S. 506 (1911)
o Case involving the saving of land for the nation’s forests.
Defendants were accused of violating Regulation 45 by
grazing sheep without a permit.
o Secretary of Agriculture was charged with the authority to
make rules and regulations to preserve the forests from
destruction. Required individuals to secure permits before
grazing any stock in a forest reserve.
o The Court upheld agency’s right to make rules and
• Occurs when delegation by Congress (legislature)
does not accompany sufficient standards
• According to S. Ct in Eastlake v. Forest City
Enters., 426 US 668 (1976), “a Congressional
delegation of power…must be accompanied by
discernible standards, so that the delegate’s
actions may be measured by fidelity to the
• Cases, in which struck down delegation:
o Panama Refining (1935)
o Schechter (1935)
o Carter (1936)
Panama Refining Co. v.
Ryan, 293 US 388 (1935)
• Also known as the Hot Oil case. The S. Ct. ruling that
overturned key elements of the New Deal legislative
program under the National Industrial Recovery Act
• Section 9c of the NIRA provided the President with
the power to prohibit the interstate and foreign
trade of petroleum goods produced in excess of
• Court found that Congress violated the delegation
doctrine by vesting the President with legislative
powers without clear guidelines.
A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v.
United States, 295 US 495 (1935)
• S. Ct declared unconstitutional the Live Poultry
Code, Section 3 of the NIRA, which gave the
president the authority to approve “codes of unfair
competition” that were drafted by the businesses
• Schechter was charged with violating the code by
selling unfit chickens, illegally selling chickens on an
individual basis, avoiding inspections, falsifying
records, and selling poultry to unlicensed
• Court held that the president lack the power to
write the code, as all legislative power is to be
vested in Congress.
Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298
US 238 (1936)
• Court found the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act
of 1935 unconstitutional because Congress went
beyond its powers.
• The Act regulated prices, minimum
wages, maximum hours and “fair practices” of the
coal industry. Tax refunds were established as
incentives to abide by the regulations.
• Congress did not have the right to regulate
manufacturing under the guise of regulating
Separation of Powers
• Theory of government, in which powers are
separated into three branches
(executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent the
usurpation of power by one group or one person.
• The Constitution provides:
o Legislative branch creates the laws
o Judicial branch settles disputes concerning the
o Executive branch manages the staff and
programs necessary in carrying out the laws
Separation of Powers
• In addition to requiring the powers of government
to be split into three branches, the Constitution
requires two distinct forms of government that will
o National (federal) and state government system.
• Federalism is the system in which the power to
govern is shared between the national (federal)
and state governments.
Role of Each Branch in
• Independence of the branches
o Executive – manages government programs, administers government
agencies, and implements the laws
o Legislative – makes the laws
o Judicial – interprets the laws by settling disputes about he laws in various
court systems (federal, state, local)
• Checks and balances on the branches
o Each branch acts as a check against encroaching power-grabbing by
another branch to keep the balance of power.
• Conflict of overlapping power
o Legislative provides money to agencies
o Executive develops programs and seeks legislation to solve problems
o Judicial decides if a matter brought to its attention is subject to judicial
Powers of Government and
laws or rules
X X X
• Principle that provides that the legislature give an
agency guidelines from which to make specific
laws and criteria to set standards.
• Mistretta v. United States, 488 US 361 (1989)
o Questioned the delegation of authority to the U.S. Sentencing Commission
to research prison sentences and to draft prison sentencing guidelines for
o Court upheld the delegation on three major grounds:
• Congress had created a starting point of current sentencing
• Congress determined the sentencing goals; and
• Congress ordered statutory minimums and maximums to be followed
Assignment – September 22, 2011
• Read Chapter 3
• Review the following cases:
oCitizens to Preserve Overton
Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 US 402 (1971)
oHeckler v. Chaney, 470 US 821 (1985)
• Test next week, September
15, 2011 over Chapters 1