We dug around and found these explanations of what “arbitrary and capricious” means in government. Read on and then listen to the Butte County State’s Attorney talk about it to the county commission during their ethics meeting.
“The arbitrary-or-capricious test is a legal standard of review used by judges to assess the actions of administrative agencies. It was originally defined in a provision of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which instructs courts reviewing agency actions to invalidate any that they find to be “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” The test is most frequently employed to assess the factual basis of an agency’s rulemaking, especially informal rulemakings.[1][2][3][4]”
– ballotpedia.org
“A decision is arbitrary if it comes about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will. It is capricious if it is the product of a sudden, impulsive and seemingly unmotivated notion or action.” City of Livingston v. Park Conserv. Dist., 2013 MT 234, ¶ 10, 371 Mont. 303, 307 P.3d 317 (citation omitted). – courts.mt.gov
“Unless exempted, government agencies in Nevada are bound by the Nevada Administrative Procedures Act (“NAPA”), NRS Chapter 233B, and federal agencies are bound by the federal Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). 5 U.S.C. 500 et seq. Among other things, the NAPA and APA establish uniform standards for formal rulemaking and adjudication, and define the scope of judicial review.
NAPA instructs courts to invalidate any agency action that is “[a]rbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion,” NRS 233B.135(3)(f). The APA instructs courts to overturn an agency action that is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). Unless judicial review is further limited by legislation, this arbitrary-or-capricious test is one basis to challenge a final administrative decision.
What makes a decision arbitrary or capricious?
These concepts are nuanced and hard to grasp.
The Supreme Court of Nevada has announced that “[w]here an agency’s decision is challenged as arbitrary and capricious, this court will uphold the decision if it is supported by evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate.” Desert Palace, Inc. v. Nevada Gaming Comm’n, 130 Nev. 1170 (2014) (citing United Exposition Serv. Co. v. State Indus. Ins. Sys., 109 Nev. 421, 423–24, 851 P.2d 423, 424–25 (1993)). Conversely, an agency action is arbitrary or capricious if the decision is “‘baseless’ or ‘despotic’ and ‘a sudden turn of mind without apparent motive; a freak, whim, mere fancy.’” City of Reno v. Estate of Wells, 110 Nev. 1218, 1222, 885 P.2d 545, 548 (1994) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Thus, in Nevada, the substantial evidence test is intrinsically a part of the arbitrary-or-capricious standard.
Federal courts have enumerated that, under the APA,
[a] decision is arbitrary and capricious if the agency [1] has relied on factors which Congress has not intended it to consider, [2] entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, [3] offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency, or [4] [has offered an explanation] so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a difference in view or product of agency expertise.
George v. Bay Area Rapid Transit, 577 F.3d 1005, 1010 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation and citations omitted).”
– clarkcountybar.org