Administrative Law Judges

Administrative Law Judges in the United States

Introduction to Administrative Law

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th edition, Administrative Law is that “body of law created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders and decisions.” Administrative agencies are created by Congress to oversee areas of the law that are too time consuming or complex for Congress to deal with on an ongoing basis.

The legislature’s power to regulate the area is delegated to the agency. An agency can have legislative, executive or judicial powers, or any combination of the three. One example is the Internal Revenue Service. Because Congress does not have time to deal with the day to day problems of managing tax assessment and collection, it created the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS has been given the responsibility and the authority to design forms, collect taxes, perform audits, adjudicate disputes, etc. This agency has the power to do whatever it needs to do to make sure that Federal taxes are collected in a timely and efficient manner. Many of the “alphabet agencies” were created during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, although some, such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, date back to the last century. A brief list of agencies appears at the end of this guide. Administrative law is becoming more important as Congress delegates more authority to agencies. To find out more information about how a particular federal agency is organized, refer to The United States Government Manual.

Administrative Law Judges (Presiding Officers)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of administrative law judges. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Presiding Officers is provided. Finally, the subject of Agency Adjudication in relation with administrative law judges is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.

Administrative Law Judges

In Legislation

Administrative Law Judges in the U.S. Code: Title 5, Part III, Subpart F, Chapter 75, Subchapter III

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating administrative law judges are compiled in the United States Code under Title 5, Part III, Subpart F, Chapter 75, Subchapter III. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Government Employees (including administrative law judges) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Government Employee Relations and Judges and Administrative Law of the US Code, including administrative law judges) by chapter and subchapter.

Resources

Further Reading

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