Administrative Agencies and Administrative Law
What is Administrative Law?
Courts expect the Agency to follow their regulations; if not, the courts won’t look at the problem
Act w/ good judgment and w/o emotion
Articulate the reasoning
Components of Administrative Law
System
Application of system
DP, Constitution is a floor
Review of the system
Agency act as a court?
Agencies have zero inherent power
Ladder?
Constitution
Specific statutes à Enabling Act
Agency rules and regulations
How to appeal, where you file information
Standards of proper procedure
Judge-made law
Gilmore v. Lujan
Act specifically requires an original signature sent in; guy is denied b/c he sends in a copy
b/c the req’t was so specifically laid-out, the Ct. cannot penalize the Agency’s decision b/c they followed the rules
Administrative Agencies
Freytag v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Case about the head judge in tax ct à appointed by the President, but President had to listen to Congressional recommendations, etc. before making that decision
b/c the req’ts for appointing the judge were laid out, the authority isn’t too overreaching
This Judge isn’t a technical Article III Ct.; he is an Article I Ct., thus making his appointment OK
Types of Agencies
Types of Agencies
Regulatory agencies
Licensing power
Rate-making power
Power over business practices
Non-regulatory agencies
Employee benefits
Scheme of social insurance
Welfare; Veterans
Agencies and Independence
Bowsher v. Synar
This case defines the Agency position w/in the Constitutional structure
Comptroller General à recommended by President, appointed by Congress à CG can only be fired for cause à also removed by Joint Resolution
Morrison v. Olson
Limitations on Article III Courts à special prosecutors
So how do we remove the special counsel? à 3 ways:
Self-terminate by sending Attorney General a letter
Special division / court may remove them
Attorney General could for cause à problematic à gives Executive Branch some control
How do we then put a check on the Executive Branch to keep them under control?
Attorney General has to define, in writing, of the good cause she has to remove Special Counsel
Has to send it to Special Division, and to the S and H in Congress (both Senate and House)
Special Counsel can also sue to be reinstated
FTC v. American National Cellular, Inc.
P can interpret laws, enforce them, and administer them; it is a “permissible diminution” to have the President remove them
Delegation of Powers
Legislative Powers
Types of delegation
Subordinate
Proven to fill in details
Supplement
Contingent
Ascertainment of a fact
What and When
Legislature must explicitly specify
What: the power delegated
When: Conditions under which the power is to be exercised
Almost to the point now where delegation is no longer an issue b/c it has been argued about so much
Mistretta v. U.S.
Facts: Congress set up a sentencing commission to review Federal sentencing guidelines à D was charged w/ a drug offense, and claimed that Congress unconstitutionally delegated his sentence to the sentencing commission
Attorney General sits w/o any voting power also – has power based on their position to oversee the commission, but cannot officially vote (liaison of sorts)
Industrial Dept. v. American Petroleum Inst.
Delegation
For it to work, must have that intelligible principle
Insure legislature is making important choices
Gives the recipient a “standard” to guide action
Ensures that courts will be able to test action against ascertainable standards
What to do:
Hone in on the statute à read the clause; might be something
Agencies allowed to hand down damages assessments à necessary ability
In re Investigation of Lauricella
The commission found L guilty, held him in contempt of court, and fined him $500. He appealed.
Agency tried to enforce something it didn’t have the power to do, over somebody it didn’t have the power to regulate over
Investigations and Information
To obtain needed information, agencies are given various ancillary powers:
Records and Reports
Craib v. Bulmash
Judicial enforcement of Administrative subpoena for records that are req’d to be kept by law à corporate records never subject to 5th Am. protection
Inspections
New York v. Burger
Time, Place, Manner restrictions—
Is this a pervasively regulated industry?
Is this particular req’t connected sufficiently to the pervasively regulated industry to be valid?
If this is about a search warrant, is it clear in terms of time, place and manner?
Subpoenas
Texas Lawyers Insurance Exchange v. Resolution Trust Corp.
Agency’s subpoena isn’t self-enforcing à must be enforced by the courts
EEOC v. Kloster Cruise Ltd.
Agencies allowed to do a fact-finding session before determining if they have jurisdiction
Right to inquisition à but must be reasonable
Freedom of Information
New York Times v. NASA
First, do threshold test of nature of information sought (protect privacy interests), then do balancing test b/w public and private interests
O’Kane v. U.S. Customs Service
P’s an ambulance-chaser à Ct. holds the privacy interests of potential clients higher than P’s interests
Sunshine Laws
Open meetings
5 days notice, agenda must be posted, gov’t must provide the information
