ARLINGTON, Va.–What might a new member on the Supreme Court mean for credit unions? It’s uncertain, according to one person, but there are some things CUs should be watching for.
With Amy Coney Barrett’s addition expected to push the Supreme Court to the right, there will likely be ramifications for credit unions in the future, Hunt said. The caveat: it’s too soon to tell what those ramifications might be.
One big issue: what is known as the Chevron deference, of the Chevron doctrine. Chevon is an administrative law principle that compels federal courts to defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous or unclear statute that Congress delegated to the agency to administer.
Such deference to a federal agency has included cases involving NCUA, most recently, in its new field of membership rules, which it let stand after declining to hear a banking industry appeal of a lower court ruling upholding the agency’s decision.
But, said Hunt, a case could come before the court that could strengthen or weaken the Chevron deference, depending on how the justices rule, and that in turn could create new challenges to NCUA.
Other Issues Before Court
The Supreme Court also has before it other issues of interest to credit unions, including the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a case involving Facebook related to alleged violations of the telephone Consumer Protection Act that involves robocalls, an issue on which both credit unions have been active.
Hunt said she has no guess on how Coney Barrett might vote in such cases.
As CUToday.info is reporting separately, the Senate is likely to return in mid-October to vote on the nominee’s appointment to the highest court.