Appeal No. 2000-0426
Application No. 08/427,447
The Federal Circuit in In re Lee, 277 F.3d 1338, 1344-1345, 61
USPQ 2d 1430, 1434-35 (Fed. Cir. 2002) emphasized the need for an
informed decision by the agency based upon evidence in the record.
Lee states:
Thus the Board must not only assure that the requisite
findings are made, based on evidence of record, but must
also explain the reasoning by which the findings are
deemed to support the agency’s conclusion.
Deferential judicial review und Procedure Act does not
relieve the agency of its obligation to develop an
evidentiary basis for its findings. To the contrary, the
Administrative Procedure Act reinforces this obligation.
See, e.g. Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Ass’n v. State Farm
Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29,43 (1983) (“ the
agency must examine the relevant data and articulate a
satisfactory explanation for its action including a
‘rational connection between the facts found and the
choice made.”) (quoting Burlington Truck Lines v. United
States, 371 U.S. 156, 168 (1962)); Securities & Exchange
Comm’n v. Chenery Corp., 318 U.S. 80, 94 (1943) (“The
orderly function of the process of review requires that
the grounds upon which the administrative agency acted
are clearly disclosed and adequately sustained.”).
The foundation of the principle of judicial deference to
the rulings of agency tribunals is that the tribunal has
specialized knowledge and expertise, such that when
reasoned findings are made, a review court may
confidently defer to the agency’s application of its
knowledge in its area of expertise. Reasoned findings
are critical to the performance of agency functions and
judicial reliance on agency competence. See Baltimore
and Ohio R.R. Co. v Aberdeen & Rockfish R.R. Co., 393
U.S. 87, 91-92 (1968)(absent reasoned findings based on
substantial evidence effective review would become lost
“in the haze of so-called expertise”)... The Board’s
findings must extend to all material facts and must be
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