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Cass R. Sunstein, Reviewing Agency Inaction after Heckler v. Chaney, 52 U. Chi. L. Rev. 653 (1985).


Abstract: Is it lawful for the executive branch not to take action to enforce the Affordable Care Act? The Clean Air Act? When may courts review agency inaction? This essay explores these questions, with reference to the leading Supreme Court decision on the topic. It offers an assortment of legitimate grounds on which courts may test the question whether a failure to enforce the law, or to issue regulations, should be invalidated.