Justices Skeptical of Agency Deference in Junk-Fax Case (1)

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical during a March 25 oral argument that district courts should defer to the Federal Communications Commission’s definition of an advertisement under a federal robocall law.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined Stephen G. Breyer and other justices in questioning whether forcing a lower court to defer to the FCC effectively denies petitioners the chance to challenge the agency’s stance. The high court is weighing whether courts must defer to the FCC’s interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The high court may decide to scale back the amount of deference courts owe to federal ...