Kurt Meister v. U.S. Department of Agriculture

OPINION

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge.

An agency is not entitled to deference simply because it is an agency. It is true that agencies are more specialized than courts are. But for courts to defer to them, agencies must do more than announce the fact of their comparative advantage; they must actually use it. And that means, among many other things, that the agency must apply — rather than disregard' — the relevant statutory and regulatory criteria.

Kurt Meister, a Michigan attorney appearing pro se, argues that the United States Forest Service disregarded the relevant criteria here. Specifically, he…