What is the nature of deference shown to administrative decisions?

Deference is the respect or courtesy shown by one party to another. In the legal context, deference is shown to administrative decisions when courts show respect or courtesy to the interpretation of a law that has been made by an administrative agency. In South Carolina, administrative law consists of the rules, regulations, and decisions of state agencies. In South Carolina, courts show deference to administrative decisions by applying the doctrine of “Chevron Deference.” The Chevron Deference doctrine requires courts to show respect and follow the interpretations that agencies make of their own authorities and regulations. This means that courts are expected to follow and trust the interpretations given by agencies, rather than questioning or examining the reasoning behind the decision. For example, if a state agency was tasked with determining whether a policy was discriminatory or not, a court could show deference to the agency’s decision without fully examining the rationale behind it. This is because the court is respecting the expertise and experience of the administrative agency. However, courts are not expected to show complete deference to administrative decisions. Courts may choose to take a second look into a decision and assess the quality of the evidence presented and the reasonableness of the interpretations made if it questions the decision that an agency has made. Generally, courts will decide whether to show deference to an administrative decision by weighing the reasonableness of the interpretation against the policies of public welfare that the decision would produce.

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What is the nature of deference shown to administrative decisions?

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