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Amicus Briefs

LHL Realty Company DC v. District of Columbia

CASE SUMMARY

NCLA urges the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to set aside the temporary “Deference Amendment” to the District’s Administrative Procedure Act. The new amendment requires courts to defer to the Mayor and administrative agencies’ “reasonable” interpretations of the law when reviewing these authorities’ actions, a violation of the Supreme Court’s Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce decision won by NCLA that overturned Chevron deference.

By allowing the executive branch of government to exercise some of the judiciary’s authority, the Deference Amendment also violates the D.C. Court Reorganization Act of 1970 and the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, which “vested” judicial power in the D.C. courts—just like Article III of the U.S. Constitution “vests” judicial power in federal courts.Judicial deference not only deprives courts of their independent judgment in saying what the law is, it also denies Americans the due process of law. When a judge defers to an administrative agency, the government effectively becomes a judge in its own case. This rips away citizens’ right to an impartial adjudicator when they challenge official agency action.

OUR TEAM

Daniel Kelly
Senior Litigation Counsel
John J. Vecchione
Senior Litigation Counsel
Mark Chenoweth
President and Chief Legal Officer

RELEVANT MATERIALS

NCLA FILINGS

Brief of the New Civil Liberties Alliance and the Goldwater Institute as Amicus Curiae in Support of Neither Party and Advocating Neither Affirmance Nor Reversal

July 2, 2025 | Read More

PRESS RELEASES

NCLA Asks Appeals Court to Toss Illegal D.C. Judicial Deference Mandate That Is Worse Than Chevron

July 2, 2025 | Read More

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