Federal Administrative (Agency)

Decisions

Decisions of Administrative Bodies

Decisions of agencies can broadly be classified as
Advisory opinions
not binding
authoritative interpretations of statutes and regulations that indicate
agency policy and expectations
Informal Adjudications
governed by special statutory requirements or agencys own
regulations
due process concerns apply
discretionary
generally not reviewable by a court
conducted by presiding officers and not by independent Administrative
Law Judges (ALJ)

Formal Agency Decisions

Formal Adjudications: Quasi-judicial decisions
adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation or
violation of enabling statutes or regulations
reported much as case law is
usually delivered in written format
the role of the court is often performed by an
independent Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) or agency
commissioner(s).
proceedings are usually fact-finding inquiries into how
regulations apply to a particular situation
agencies are not strictly bound by prior decisions but
the decisions have precedential value so attorneys who
practice before an agency can use the decisions as an
important primary source of the law.

Formal Decisions
Publication of Decisions
Official versions are available in most law and university
libraries that are official depositories of the U.S.
Government Printing Office
Usually issued first as a slip
opinion or advance sheet
Many agencies eventually
bind their decisions in
permanently numbered volumes
Some agencies publish only in pamphlet format, or
only on microfiche
In any format, most decisions have some sort of finding
aids, such as an index, table of cases, or tables of statutes
or regulations cited

Official decisions of the Federal Power Commission and

the Federal Trade Commission published by the United
States Printing Office.

Formal Decisions
Publication of decisions
Unofficial versions are reproduced in looseleaf services,
sometimes with sequentially numbered bound volumes.
Unofficial versions tend to be far more current and better
indexed than the official decisions.
Unofficial versions are also placed on Westlaw. Westlaw
contains the decisions of many federal and state
agencies, including;

Federal Communications Commission, Federal Labor and

Employment Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, Internal Revenue Service, Interstate Commerce
Commission, National Mediation Board, Federal Trade
Commission, Federal Maritime Commission, Department of the
Interior, Attorney General, and Department of Agriculture.

Unofficial decisions of the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission as published by CCH

Finding an Agency Decision

Each agency has its own method of indexing decisions so
few generalizations can be made.
Official versions are usually more poorly indexed and
slower to be indexed than unofficial versions
Individual volumes may have finding aids, such as a
table of contents, a table of cases reported, a list of
opinions/decisions/orders, an index by type of action, a
topical index, or an index-digest.
Some sets of decisions may have finding aids, such as
an index or digest for the set.
Secondary sources, such as the American Law Reports or
law review articles, often discuss agency decisions in the
context of discussing a court case or a statute.

Finding an Agency Decision on Westlaw

Westlaw is probably the fastest way for an attorney who does
not regularly practice before a particular agency to find a
decision or decisions that discuss a particular topic.
Database: TP-ALL (All Law Reviews and Bar Journals)
Query: f.c.c. f.c.c.r. /10 decision /p merger re-organization
/p radio television
At least one of the 31
documents retrieved with
the above search
cites to decisions of the
Federal Communications
Commission

 KeyCite lists federal administrative decisions that have

been cited in court cases
Click the Citing References link.
Click the Limit KeyCite Display button at bottom of
screen.
Deselect all but Administrative Decisions check box.
Click Apply.

Admin. Dec.
Apply

Limit KeyCite Display

Finding Orders and Decisions on Westlaw

When you know the documents citation, access the Find
service and type
16 F.C.C.R. 16087
32 FCC 2d 360
When you know the parties name and the database identifier
Database: FCOM-FCC
Search: ti(nynex & new england)
When you know the fact pattern, specific proper names, or
unique terms
Database: FCOM-FCC
captain kangaroo /p child /s programming schedul!
When you want to retrieve documents that discuss an issue
Database: FCOM-FCC Search: Natural Language
misleading (deceptive false) advertising vitamins

Updating an Agency Decision

Precedent might not have as strong a role in updating an

administrative decision as it would in case law but you still
need to know
Whether judicial review has overturned an agency
decision
Whether later agency decisions have disapproved of the
decision
the agencys position on a particular issue

Updating an Agency Decision

History

Decision in Question

Vacated in Part

It is possible to retrieve KeyCite History results for the

decisions of some agencies. See the above decision of the
Federal Communications Commission. It was vacated, in part.

A Partial List of Agencies Whose Decisions

Can be Updated in KeyCite
Board of Immigration
Appeals
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Environmental Protection
Agency
Federal Commerce
Commission
Federal Communications
Commission
Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission

Federal Government
Contracts Board
Federal Securities and
Exchange Commission
Internal Revenue Service
(rulings and memoranda)
National Labor Relations
Board
Office of Comptroller
General
Patent Office
Public Utility Reports
Tax Court

Updating Using Westlaw as a Citator

Access a database containing case law, administrative law,
analytical materials, or any other type of material that
might contain a discussion of the administrative decision.
Devise a Terms and Connectors search that will include
some of the essential items in the citation of the decision
within a few words or the same sentence of the party or
agency name.
Database: FENV-EPA
Query: asbestos removal /s e.a.d.

Judicial Review of Agency Decisions

Once an Administrative Law Judge has issued a decision,
that decision can usually be appealed to a higher entity
within the agency.
Those appealing an agency decision must usually exhaust
agency remedies before moving the action to a federal
court.
The final agency decision can usually be appealed
to a federal court of appeals if Congress has provided an
appeals process
to the federal district court if no provision for appeal has
been specified

Judicial Review of Agency Decisions

The appeal of these decisions can be found in the Supreme
Court Reporter, the Federal Reporter, and the Federal
Supplement in print and in the corresponding databases on
Westlaw:
Supreme Court cases are in the SCT database
Federal Reporter cases are in the CTA database
Federal Supplement cases are in the DCT database
Summaries of these cases can be found in Wests Federal
Practice Digests, and the United States Supreme Court
Digest
SCT-HN, CTA-HN, and DCT-HN are the corresponding
databases on Westlaw.

Judicial Review of Administrative

Decisions: Common Issues

Constitutionality
Agency acted outside the scope of delegated authority
Procedural due process violations
Arbitrary and capricious decision
Abuse of agency discretion
Separation of powers
When original jurisdiction can be granted to the United
States District Court
Interpretation of the language of the enabling statute or
regulation

When Federal District Court has Original

Jurisdiction over Agency Matter
When an agency is the plaintiff (See 28 USCA 1345)
When there is a federal question (See 28 USCA 1331)
When there is a mandamus action to compel an agency to
perform a duty owed to plaintiff
When there is a specific statute authorizing original
jurisdiction in the federal district court
Some examples of matters of original jurisdiction for the
district court
What constitutes an interpretive rule
Agency compliance with Sunshine Act
Exhaustion of remedies under Privacy Act
What constitutes agency action, order, decision,
final order, or final decision within meaning of
statute authorizing judicial review

CONTROVERSY

AGENCY ACTIONS
Decision by
Presiding Officer,
Commissioner, or
ALJ
Appeal to higher entity
within the Agency:
Exhaustion of Agency
Remedies

COURT ACTIONS
Original Jurisdiction
by District Court
By statute
Agency is plaintiff
Federal question
Mandamus action
Judicial Review
To Court of Appeals
if statute provides
for appeal
To District Court if
there is no provision
for appeal