What is a defining feature of hard look review?

What is a defining feature of hard look review?

• A. It defers automatically to agency expertise.
• B. It scrutinizes the agency’s reasoning more closely, especially on high-stakes issues.
• C. It ignores the evidentiary record.
• D. It applies only to statutory interpretation, not policy.

Answer: (B)

Hard look review is about a heightened, careful examination of the agency’s reasoning and decision-making process. Courts use this approach when the stakes are high, so they don’t simply accept the agency’s conclusions at face value; they ask whether the agency clearly tied its decision to the statutory mandate, considered the relevant factors, and relied on an adequate evidentiary record. If the agency’s reasoning is thin, opaque, or fails to address important considerations, the court may intervene. That emphasis on scrutinizing how the agency reasoned its choice—especially on significant issues—is what defines hard look review.

Hard look review is about a heightened, careful examination of the agency’s reasoning and decision-making process. Courts use this approach when the stakes are high, so they don’t simply accept the agency’s conclusions at face value; they ask whether the agency clearly tied its decision to the statutory mandate, considered the relevant factors, and relied on an adequate evidentiary record. If the agency’s reasoning is thin, opaque, or fails to address important considerations, the court may intervene. That emphasis on scrutinizing how the agency reasoned its choice—especially on significant issues—is what defines hard look review.