1. The rule that federal courts are not bound by an administrative agency’s findings of fact when the facts involve whether the agency has exceeded constitutional limitations on its power, esp. regarding personal rights. • The courts reviewed the facts de novo to afford protection of constitutional rights. Although it has not been overruled or wholly discredited, this rule has fallen out of favor. [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 783, 784.
1. C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure § 229.]
2. The rule that a federal appellate court is not bound by a trial court’s findings of fact when constitutional rights are implicated, specif. in citizenship-determination and First Amendment cases. See, e.g., Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union, 466 U.S. 485, 104 S.Ct. 1949 (1984). Cf. JURISDICTIONAL-FACT DOCTRINE. [Cases: Federal Courts 870. 1.]
