Agency Adjudication
Administrative agencies balances ____, _____, and _____. Agencies often use procedures that differ from those of Article III courts, but those procedures must still satisfy statutory requirements and constitutional due process
Expertise, efficiency, and fairness
Due process may require an opportunity to be heard when the government makes an ________ ________ affecting a small number of person.
Individualized decision:
Such as a special assessment on particular landowners (Londoner v. City of Denver, 1908).
Three requirements of standing
Injury in Fact: concrete, particularized, and actual/imminent
Causation: fairly traceable
Redressability: The court is able to fashion a remedy
***No generalized grievances, PQ.
What are the concepts of Exhaustion and Ripeness?
Exhaustion: Parties must exhaust available administrative remedies before seeking judicial review.
Ripeness: Courts evaluate the fitness of the issues for judicial decision and the hardship of the parties of withholding review.
Courts ordinarily avoid probing the subjective mental process of agency decision makers in order to respect separation of powers, prevent chilling of internal deliberations, and maintain efficient administration.
What is this known as?
Mental Process Rule
Agencies generally have the discretion to choose whether to formulate policy through rulemaking, aka ______. Agencies also have discretion to do a case-by-case _______, provided they do not abuse that discretion.
General Application
Adjudication
When the government adopts a generally applicable policy decision that affects a broad class of people, does due process require individualized hearings to take place?
No. Generally applicable policy that affects a broad class of people [like tax increases] generally does not require individualized hearings. The check is the political process.
How can a plaintiff prove they have standing based on a procedural injury?
Example: An agency failed to prepare an EIS under NEPA
The plaintiff must show that the procedure was designed to protect their concrete interest and that strictly following the procedure could impair that interest.
Do courts have to exercise independent judgment on questions of statutory interpretation?
Yes. b/c of Loper Bright.
What if the agency provides the reasons for their action in litigation documents like affidavits in support of summary judgment. Would this be enough for a reviewing court to uphold agency action?
No. A reviewing court may only uphold an agency action ONLY on the grounds that the agency itself invoked when it made the decision. Courts CANNOT affirm a decision based on "post hoc rationalizations" provided by government lawyers during litigation.
"On the record after opportunity for an agency hearing" refers to what kind of adjudication?
Formal
To determine what specific procedures are required by due process, courts apply the three-part balancing test. This test comes from Mathews v. Eldridge. What are the three parts of this test?
1. The private interest: The importance of the private interest at stake.
2. The risk of Error: The risk of an erroneous deprivation under current procedures and the probable value of additional safeguards.
3. The Govt. Interest. The govt's interest, including the burden of additional procedures.
What does it mean that a plaintiff's interest must fall within the "zone of interests"?
A plaintiff must show that the relevant statute is designed to protect whatever interest the plaintiff is claiming harm to. This test is not meant to be especially demanding, but it does exclude plaintiffs whose interest are only marginally related.
Courts must set aside agency actions that are _____, _______, ____________, or _______.
APA 706(2)(A)
Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse or discretion, or not in accordance with law.
When is substantial evidence review required?
Applied when a statute requires decisions "on the record" (formal adjudication/rulemaking). Courts ask if a reasonable mind might accept the evidence as adequate to support the conclusion.
Who can preside over formal agency adjudication?
Hint: Three types of people
ALJ
Agency Head
One or more members of the Agency
Procedural Due Process requires a pre-termination hearing for these sort of benefits: ___________
Procedural Due Process requires a post-termination hearing for these sort of benefits: ___________
Welfare Benefits: (Goldberg)
Disability Benefits: (Mathews)
How are Federal Courts prevented from reviewing Agency action?
Hint: There are a few ways
Explicit/Implicit Preclusion (701(a)(1))
Committed to Agency discretion (701(a)(2))
Organic statutes channel review to courts of appeals on a strict timeline which can displace district courts.
Courts can set aside ultra vires actions where the agency exceeds statutory authority even if procedures were followed.
When does an agency act arbitrability?
Think of the State Farm case with the seatbelt rule being removed. The court took a HARD LOOK at the agency action.
An agency acts arbitrarily when it fails to examine relevant data, relies on factors Congress did not intend, or provides explanations counter to the evidence.
When does a court remand a rule without vacatur?
When the defect in the rule is curable and vacatur would be highly disruptive.
What are the procedural safeguards in Formal Adjudication?
Hint: Four of them
Notice
Evidence and Cross-Exam
Neutral Decision Maker
Prohibition on Ex Parte Communication
When does a protected property interest exist?
Examples of protected property interests include public benefits, licenses, and tenured employment.
When statutes, regulations, or contract create a legit claim of entitlement to a benefit, rather than a unilateral hope.
Only final agency action is reviewable...when is the action final?
Action is final when it marks the consummation of the process and legal consequences flow from it.
What does HARD LOOK review focus on?
Think of Overton Park.
Hard look review focuses on the administrative record existing at the time of the decision.
What could happen if an agency has failed to address significant comments that raise important alternatives or critiques?
The rule could be determined to be arbitrary and capricious.