Time to End 'Open Mind' Requirement in Agency Rulemaking

Litigation Partner Steven Gordon published an article for Law360 on the topic of ending the “open mind” standard for rulemaking. For years, the D.C. Circuit put in place the open-mindedness standard which stated, “[d]ecisionmakers violate the Due Process Clause and must be disqualified when they act with an ‘unalterably closed mind’ and are ‘unwilling or unable’ to rationally consider arguments.”

In today’s society, however, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) finds no support for the “open mind” standard. Mr. Gordon explains that the APA has established a new set of rules to follow for the judicial review of agency actions and to let go of the “open mind” rule.

READ: Time to End 'Open Mind' Requirement in Agency Rulemaking