Publication Date

2023

Abstract

This article examines originalist interpretations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) from the perspective of a legal historian. After ex­ amining two pieces of originalist scholarship, it concludes that the histor­ ical record may not produce narratives of enough specificity or coherence to assist the originalist project. Nonetheless, it highlights three under-examined subjects of historical inquiry that have the most potential to aid APA originalists: the nature of administrative procedure during the first three decades of the twentieth century when the modem "appellate model" of judicial review emerged; the actual practice of ad­ ministrative law during the New Deal, both within agencies and in the courts; and the historiographical dispute as to whether the APA intended to codify existing practices, or shift them in a more conservative direc­ tion.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Download

Share

COinS