Fact Check: "Supreme Court hasn't invoked nondelegation doctrine since 1935"
What We Know
The claim that the Supreme Court has not invoked the nondelegation doctrine since 1935 is supported by historical legal analysis. The nondelegation doctrine asserts that Congress cannot delegate its legislative powers to other entities without providing an "intelligible principle" to guide the exercise of that authority. The last significant cases where the Supreme Court invalidated legislation on nondelegation grounds were A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States and Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, both decided in 1935 (source-1, source-4). Since then, the Court has upheld various delegations of authority to administrative agencies and has not struck down any legislation on nondelegation grounds (source-1, source-6).
Analysis
The historical context of the nondelegation doctrine reveals that while the Supreme Court has occasionally referenced it, the practical application has changed significantly since the 1930s. The Court's decisions in Schechter and Panama Refining were pivotal, as they established a precedent for invalidating broad delegations of legislative power. However, since those cases, the Court has consistently upheld delegations under the "intelligible principle" standard, which allows Congress to delegate authority as long as it provides some guidelines for its exercise (source-1, source-2).
The reliability of the sources used in this analysis is high. The information from the U.S. Constitution Annotated is authoritative and provides a thorough historical account of the nondelegation doctrine (source-1). Additionally, the timeline provided by Ballotpedia is well-researched and corroborates the claim that no significant nondelegation challenges have succeeded since 1935 (source-6).
While some legal scholars argue that the nondelegation doctrine has not disappeared entirely and continues to influence judicial decisions, the consensus remains that the Supreme Court has not struck down a legislative delegation on these grounds since the mid-1930s (source-3).
Conclusion
Verdict: True
The claim that the Supreme Court has not invoked the nondelegation doctrine since 1935 is accurate. The last significant cases that invalidated legislation on these grounds were Schechter and Panama Refining, both decided in 1935. Since then, the Court has upheld numerous delegations of authority, indicating a shift in its approach to the nondelegation doctrine.
Sources
- The History of the Doctrine of Nondelegability | U.S. Constitution Annotated. Link
- The Gorsuch Test: Gundy v. United States, Limiting the Administrative State. Link
- PDF Judge Stephen F. Williams and the Underestimated History of the Non-Delegation Doctrine. Link
- A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States - Wikipedia. Link
- Supreme Font | dafont.com. Link
- Nondelegation doctrine: a timeline - Ballotpedia. Link
