Delegation of Adjudicatory Power to Agencies

1. Delegation of Adjudicatory Power to Agencies • This mirrors some of the issues raised by the delegation of rulemaking powers • Can Congress delegate the right to decide individual disputes to agencies? • This is not a critical issue for this course

2. Article III Judges • Protections • Lifetime tenure • Cannot reduce salary • Cannot fire, only impeach • Cannot discipline • Why do we have these protections?

3. How are ALJs different? • Civil service protections • Can be fired • Can have salary lowered, but hard to do this • Can set work standards and discipline • How are the pressures different than those on an Article III judge?

4. Adjudication of Public Rights • Public rights have an evolving definition • One definition is that these are rights created by congress, such as the right to government land or welfare benefits • One set of cases indicates that since Congress creates these rights, they can set how they are awarded • Congress can set up compensation that is not related to real facts • Remember this later when we see the "bitter with the sweet" doctrine

5. Can an Agency Adjudicate Private Claims? • The United States Supreme Court invalidated a law letting bankruptcy judges decide contract issues in 1982 because it was not reviewable by an Art. III judge • This was a narrow plurality decision driven by the broad powers of bankruptcy courts • It has been implicitly limited by later cases

6. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor • CFTC can adjudicate disputes between clients and brokers, and award damages • Can also adjudicate counterclaims because otherwise everything would go do court

7. Does Adjudication of Private Claims Violate Separation of Powers? • A key question becomes the appeal rights to the courts • Orders must be enforced by the courts, so they can be reviewed • Decisions are subject to judicial review • We will see this in the judicial review section as a debate over the proper record for review

8. Right to Jury Trial • There is a right to a jury trial for certain federal civil matters that were part of the common law when the Constitution was adopted • The courts have construed these rights narrowly, limiting them to their historical antecedents, such as maritime cases • Many states do not allow adjudication of private disputes under state constitutional open courts provisions • LA had to have a constitutional amendment to allow worker's compensation

9. Limitations on Adjudication • An agency cannot imprison someone as a punishment • Under federal and some state laws, a person can be imprisoned for violating an agency regulation • Must get a criminal trial • Regulation must pass the vagueness test

10. State v. Broom, 439 So.2d 357 (La. 1983) • Defendant was prosecuted for violating the Louisiana Explosives Code • Challenged on void for vagueness and on non-delegation theories • On first review, the LA SC rejected the challenges and found that he could be prosecuted for violating an agency regulations • On rehearing, the Court found that prosecuting on an agency rule violated separation of powers