{
  "id": "R44699",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44699",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": 457424,
      "date": "2016-12-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-12-09T19:05:47.014385",
      "title": "An Introduction to Judicial Review of Federal Agency Action",
      "summary": "The U.S. Constitution vests the judicial power in the Supreme Court and any inferior courts established by Congress, limiting the power of federal courts to the context of \u201ccases\u201d or \u201ccontroversies.\u201d Pursuant to constitutional and statutory requirements, courts may hear challenges to the actions of federal agencies in certain situations. This report offers a brief overview of important considerations when individuals bring a lawsuit in federal court to challenge agency actions, with a particular focus on the type of review authorized by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), perhaps the most prominent modern vehicle for challenging the actions of a federal agency.\nWhether judicial review of agency action is available in federal court turns on a number of factors. Courts must possess statutory jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit, and plaintiffs must generally rely on a cause of action that allows a court to grant legal relief. Disputes must also present \u201ccases\u201d or \u201ccontroversies\u201d that satisfy the requirements of Article III of the Constitution. Finally, a suit must be presented to a court at the proper time for judicial review.\nThe APA directs reviewing courts to \u201ccompel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed\u201d and to \u201chold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions\u201d that violate the law or are otherwise \u201carbitrary and capricious.\u201d This review is limited, however, to \u201cfinal agency action\u201d that is not precluded from review by another statute or legally committed to the agency\u2019s discretion.\nPursuant to this mandate, courts are authorized to review agency action in a number of contexts. First, courts will examine the statutory authority for an agency\u2019s action and will invalidate agency choices that exceed these limits. In addition, a court may examine an agency\u2019s discretionary decisions, or discrete actions with legal consequences for the public. Finally, courts may also review an agency\u2019s compliance with statutory procedural requirements, such as the notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures imposed by the APA. This report provides a broad overview of the issues that may be relevant to any number of present and future challenges to agency action in federal court.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc958692/",
      "id": "R44699_2016Dec05",
      "date": "2016-12-05",
      "retrieved": "2017-03-10T09:12:33",
      "title": "An Introduction to Judicial Review of Federal Agency Action",
      "summary": "This report provides a broad overview of the issues that may be relevant to any number of present and future challenges to agency action in federal court.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Judicial review",
          "name": "Judicial review"
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        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Judicial review of administrative acts",
          "name": "Judicial review of administrative acts"
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          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Legislative histories",
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}