Administrative Law Process: Better Management Is Needed

More than 1,000 Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) serve in 28 federal agencies as quasi-judicial officers presiding at formal administrative hearings to resolve disputes. The federal executive departments and agencies collectively process a larger case load than U.S. courts, affect the rights of more citizens, and employ more than twice as many ALJ as there are active judges in federal trial courts. The Administrative Procedure Act sought to ensure the ALJ judicial capability and objectivity by precluding agencies from evaluating their performance and by assigning responsibility for determining their qualifications, compensation, and tenure to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).