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Section 8

Citation
Section 8
Parent Document
Theodore Hayes v. Philip Harvey, 874 F.3d 98 (2017)
Effective Date
2017-10-18
Original Source
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4435296/theodore-hayes-v-philip-harvey/ ↗

Other Sections in This Document (260)

Full Text

971 chars 
The majority’s argument against deference is that “the ‘brevity’ of HUD’s statements and ‘un[der]developed reasoning counsel toward a lower level of deference.’ ” Maj. Op. at 110 (quoting Hagans, 694 F.3d at 305). Beyond that, the majority only conclusorily states that it is not persuaded. Even if I were to accept that HUD’s many statements lack thoroughness—which I do not, given that the agency has clearly stated that it believes its interpretation is mandated by statute— this is not enough to so quickly disregard the agency’s insights. The majority does not explain what additional reasoning it seeks from the agency, or why it considers the agency’s expertise unimportant here. It simply rejects HUD’s interpretation. Skidmore deference is a “sliding-scale,” Hagans, 694 F.3d at 304, and not an “either-or choice,” Mead, 533 U.S. at 238, 121 S.Ct. 2164, yet the majority behaves as if the agency’s interpretation is entirely without import to our interpretation.