Challenging Food and Drug Administration interpretations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

摘要

Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. probably is the most often cited case decided by the Supreme Court. It is the generally accepted starting point for interpreting a statute administered by a federal administrative agencywith delegated law-making authority. Thus, in litigation against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where there is a dispute between the parties as to the interpretation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the starting point of theanalysis in the briefs and in the court's opinion is very likely to be Chevron. Chevron is commonly believed to be overwhelmingly favorable to the upholding of agencies' interpretations of the statutes they administer, and to have made a major transfer of interpretive control from the federal courts to federal agencies. This article will suggest that it is not necessarily so.