Administrative law judge

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An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is an official who presides at an administrative trial-type hearing to resolve a dispute between a government agency and someone affected by a decision of that agency. The ALJ is the initial trier of fact and decision maker. ALJ's can administer oaths, take testimony, rule on questions of evidence, and make factual and legal determinations.See [5 U.S.C. § 556]. The proceeding involved with the ALJ may be similar to a summary judgment.

Procedure for reviewing an ALJ's decision varies depending upon the agency. Agencies generally have an internal appellate body. Moreover, after the internal agency appeals have been exhausted, a party may have the right to file an appeal in the courts. Relevant statutes usually require a party to exhaust all administrative appeals before they are allowed to sue an agency in court.

Federal ALJ's are appointed under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The Act provides them protection from the agencies which appear as parties before them. Only, ALJ's receive these protections. Some agencies conduct hearings before individuals referred to as "hearing examiners," "hearing officers" or "trial examiners." These individuals may perform functions similar to those of ALJ's, but they are not protected by the APA.

In American administrative law, ALJs are Article I judges, and are not Article III judges under the U.S. Constitution. Unlike Article III judges, Article I judges are not confirmed by the Senate, do not serve for life, and can be fired or subjected to a pay cut at any time.See Glidden Company v. Zdanok, [370 U.S. 530] (1962) (discussing the difference between the two and holding that Congress has the power to convert Article I courts into Article III courts if it wishes).

Most U.S. states have a statute modeled after the APA or somewhat similar to it. In some states, like New Jersey, the state law is also known as the Administrative Procedure Act.

The powers and prestige of ALJs vary widely from agency to agency as well as between the federal and state governments. In some contexts, ALJs have almost no power; their decisions are accorded practically no deference and become, in effect, recommendations. In some agencies, ALJs dress like lawyers in business suits, share offices, and hold hearings in ordinary conference rooms. In other agencies (particularly the Division of Workers' Compensation of the California Department of Industrial Relations), ALJs wear robes like Article III judges, insist on being called "Honorable" and "Your Honor," work in private chambers, hold hearings in special "hearing rooms" that look like little courtrooms, and have court clerks who swear in witnesses. These ALJs are accorded more deference.

There are two nationwide professional organizations for ALJs: the National Conference of the Administrative Law Judiciary and the National Association of Administrative Law Judges.

Federal agencies and departments that have administrative law judges

• Coast Guard
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Health and Human Services/Department Appeals Board
• Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals
• Department of the Interior
• Department of Justice/Executive Office for Immigration Review
• Department of Labor
• Department of Transportation
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Federal Labor Relations Authority
• Federal Maritime Commission
• Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
• Federal Trade Commission
• Food and Drug Administration
• International Trade Commission
• Merit Systems Protection Board
• National Labor Relations Board
• National Transportation Safety Board
• Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
• Office of Financial Institution Adjudication
• Postal Service
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Small Business Administration
• Social Security Administration

State departments and agencies that have administrative law judges

Some states, like California, follow the federal model of having a separate corps of ALJs attached to each agency that uses them. Others, like New Jersey, have consolidated all ALJs together into a single agency that holds hearings on behalf of all other state agencies.

• Alabama Department of Revenue
• California Department of Industrial Relations
• California Department of Social Services
• California Public Utilities Commission
• Illinois Human Rights Commission
• Industrial Commission of Arizona
• New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (does hearings for all state agencies)
• New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings
• Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
• South Carolina Administrative Law Court (does hearings for all state agencies)
• Traffic Violations Bureau of New York State DMV
• Washington Office of Administrative Hearings (does hearings for all state agencies plus some local ones)

See also

• Article I and Article III tribunals

Notes