The Rise and Purported Demise of Wong Yang Sung
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Administrative Law Review
Journal Abbreviation
Admin. L. Rev.
Abstract
The Supreme Court's decision in Wong Yang Sung v. McGrath was a decision of some significance in its moment, the central holding of which seemed to establish an important principle in the interpretation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Nevertheless, while the case has never been overruled, it has been relegated to history. After an initial flurry of interest, the case was merely overlooked and then seemingly overtaken by other principles. Today, the case has become little more than a footnote in administrative law. This is unfortunate because Wong took a step that had the promise of establishing uniformity and predictability in the procedure through which adjudication would take place under the APA. The alternate path taken instead has rendered the nature of much federal adjudication either indeterminate or subject to the whim of the agency providing the adjudication.
This Article describes Wong and its central holding interpreting the APA provision with respect to when adjudication is required to follow the procedures contained in the APA. The Article then describes both Wong's immediate history and the subsequent Supreme Court decisions that have left Wong in the dust. Finally, this Article attempts to show that none of these Supreme Court decisions in fact replaces or undercuts the central holding of Wong, and that it is only a misreading of the later cases that has resulted in an abandonment of Wong. Indeed, this Article argues that the original concerns and values the Court recognized in Wong are equally applicable today and that Wong should be rediscovered and given new life.
First Page
881
Last Page
891
Publication Date
2006
Recommended Citation
William Funk,
The Rise and Purported Demise of Wong Yang Sung,
58
Admin. L. Rev.
881
(2006).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/faculty_articles/226