Administrative Law Outline

Administrative Law Outline

I. Overview:
a. Federal Courts expect an agency to:
i. Carefully follow its own regulations
ii. Be scrupulously fair
iii. Act unemotionally and with good judgment
iv. Base judgments on fact and objective analysis – not a visceral reaction
v. Be able and prepared to articulate both facts and reasoning.
b. The Supreme Court guards:
i. First amendment freedom – religion, press, speech, assembly
ii. The political process: separation of powers
iii. Protection of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
c. Components of Administrative Law:
i. The powers vested in administrative agencies: What sort of powers does the administrative agency exercise – Delegation of powers to administrative agencies.
ii. The Requirements imposed by law upon the exercise of those powers: What are the limits of those powers – The manner in which administrative powers must be exercised.
iii. Remedies against unlawful administrative action: What are the ways in which the agency is kept within those limits. Also, the judicial review of administrative action.
d. Measuring the agencies action:
i. The Constitution
ii. Specific statutes governing the agency’s conduct, typically authorizing its substantive work.
iii. The agency’s own rules and regulations
iv. Standards of proper procedure, for the most part contained in statutes, particularly the administrative procedure act.
v. Certain judge-made law applying principles of administrative “fairness (consistency)” or the prerequisites to Judicial Review (giving reasons for a decision).
e. Purpose of Administrative Law:
i. To keep administrative powers within their legal bounds.
ii. To protect individuals from the abuse of those powers
f. Components of Agencies:
i. Legislative
ii. Judicial
iii. Administrative

II. Delegation
a. Overview: The separation of powers doctrine ensures that legislative, executive, and judicial