By Bob Needham
Michigan Law
An article by Professor Rachel Rothschild has been selected as one of the top 10 environmental law papers published in 2024.
The article—“The Origins of the Major Questions Doctrine”—will be included in a forthcoming anthology on land use and environmental law published by Thomson Reuters. Leading professors and practitioners choose the top articles each year through a competitive peer review process of hundreds of articles. The final honorees represent “the most insightful thinking” on a wide range of current and emerging legal issues in the field, according to the company’s website.
“I am extremely proud of this paper, and it means the world to me to have it recognized by fellow scholars and practitioners of environmental law,” Rothschild said. “The project allowed me to combine my legal expertise with my training in the history of science, and I hope it will prove valuable to both scholars and judges grappling with recent developments in environmental and administrative law doctrine.”
First published in the Indiana Law Journal, Rothschild’s article takes a deep dive into the roots of the U.S. Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” with the aim of understanding this history’s implications for current litigation over environmental and public health regulations. The major questions doctrine maintains that federal agencies must have explicit authority from Congress to enact regulations with significant economic or political impact.
Rothschild’s article shows that the roots of the doctrine go back to the Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, commonly known as the “benzene case.” In that decision, the court invalidated new restrictions on workplace exposure to benzene, a toxic chemical that can cause leukemia.
The article employs hundreds of archival documents and a dozen oral histories to understand the underlying science behind the benzene regulation and why the justices ruled as they did. As Rothschild demonstrates, unsubstantiated fears that regulation of carcinogens would cripple U.S. industry and doubts about the adequacy of scientific research regarding benzene’s harms led the court to strike down the exposure limits.
The paper then details problematic parallels between the benzene case and other “major questions” decisions, notably exaggerated economic effects, disregard for statutory constraints on agency discretion, and deference to unqualified scientific experts. Rothschild argues that the benzene case’s history and legacy should thus “caution us from continuing down a path that devalues expertise and the role of the democratically elected branches in protecting the public.”
Rothschild’s scholarship combines law, history, and policy. Her recent research examines climate change law as well as the past and present regulation of toxic substances. She recently won the Environmental Law Distinguished Junior Scholar award from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
“Michigan Law prides itself on having world-class scholars doing important interdisciplinary work on the most pressing issues,” said Ekow Yankah, associate dean for faculty and research. “We are incredibly proud that others recognize what we know: that Rachel Rothschild is an emerging star who exemplifies the best of our traditions.”
Michigan Law
An article by Professor Rachel Rothschild has been selected as one of the top 10 environmental law papers published in 2024.
The article—“The Origins of the Major Questions Doctrine”—will be included in a forthcoming anthology on land use and environmental law published by Thomson Reuters. Leading professors and practitioners choose the top articles each year through a competitive peer review process of hundreds of articles. The final honorees represent “the most insightful thinking” on a wide range of current and emerging legal issues in the field, according to the company’s website.
“I am extremely proud of this paper, and it means the world to me to have it recognized by fellow scholars and practitioners of environmental law,” Rothschild said. “The project allowed me to combine my legal expertise with my training in the history of science, and I hope it will prove valuable to both scholars and judges grappling with recent developments in environmental and administrative law doctrine.”
First published in the Indiana Law Journal, Rothschild’s article takes a deep dive into the roots of the U.S. Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” with the aim of understanding this history’s implications for current litigation over environmental and public health regulations. The major questions doctrine maintains that federal agencies must have explicit authority from Congress to enact regulations with significant economic or political impact.
Rothschild’s article shows that the roots of the doctrine go back to the Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, commonly known as the “benzene case.” In that decision, the court invalidated new restrictions on workplace exposure to benzene, a toxic chemical that can cause leukemia.
The article employs hundreds of archival documents and a dozen oral histories to understand the underlying science behind the benzene regulation and why the justices ruled as they did. As Rothschild demonstrates, unsubstantiated fears that regulation of carcinogens would cripple U.S. industry and doubts about the adequacy of scientific research regarding benzene’s harms led the court to strike down the exposure limits.
The paper then details problematic parallels between the benzene case and other “major questions” decisions, notably exaggerated economic effects, disregard for statutory constraints on agency discretion, and deference to unqualified scientific experts. Rothschild argues that the benzene case’s history and legacy should thus “caution us from continuing down a path that devalues expertise and the role of the democratically elected branches in protecting the public.”
Rothschild’s scholarship combines law, history, and policy. Her recent research examines climate change law as well as the past and present regulation of toxic substances. She recently won the Environmental Law Distinguished Junior Scholar award from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
“Michigan Law prides itself on having world-class scholars doing important interdisciplinary work on the most pressing issues,” said Ekow Yankah, associate dean for faculty and research. “We are incredibly proud that others recognize what we know: that Rachel Rothschild is an emerging star who exemplifies the best of our traditions.”
