I need 2 pages answer the following questions.
1.Judicial Review
The required reading for this week focused on judicial review. What is judicial review of administrative action? What are the mechanisms used by the courts? Identify and explain the components of reviewability.
2.Legislative Review
The first question concerned judicial review. This question addresses legislative review of administration action. What are the mechanisms used by the legislative branch to ensure public administrators follow legislative intent? Identify and explain them. HINT: review the ppt slides. Have you experienced any of the mechanisms on the job? Do you think these mechanisms ensure that public servants follow legislative intent? What has been your experience? Are there better strategies to ensure that public administrators follow legislative intent? (Note: You will need to conduct a search on the Internet or use another source for this answer in addition to the ppt slides).
3.Judicial Judgment
Because public administrators are given a lot of power and authority (delegated by Congress), the courts serve as a check on administrative discretion. In other words the court holds administrators and their actions accountable to ensure equity and due process. Should the courts serve as a check on administrative discretion basically deferring to the agency OR should the courts substitute their own judgment for that of public administrators? There might be advantages of the courts substituting their opinion for administrators.
Sources:
Christine Harrington & Lief H. Carter, Administrative Law & Politics, Chapter 10: Judicial Review, pp. 296-334. See File Directory.
Thus far we have covered three provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act: public information, rulemaking, and adjudication. This week we cover the fourth and final provision, which is judicial review. The courts can review the actions and decisions of administrative agencies that are brought to their attention. The US Court System consists of three different levels: trial courts/district courts, which is the first line of defense and has original jurisdiction; the appellate courts, which hear appeals and serve as the second line, and finally the supreme court, which has the final say in a court case. In addition, to the three levels of courts in the United States, there is also a dual system, which consists of federal and state courts. The following graph, in addition to the graph in the power point slides, illustrates the two courts.
THE DUAL COURT STRUCTURE
STATE COURTS
FEDERAL COURTS
Trial
Level
(original
jurisdiction)
Courts of general jurisdiction
(law and equity)
Special or limited trial courts
(e.g., probate court)
United States district courts
Specialty courts of limited
jurisdiction (e.g., Tax Court)
Intermediate
Appellate
Level
State intermediate
courts of appeals
U.S. courts of appeals
Courts of
Last
Resort
State court of
last resort
(e.g., State Supreme Court)
The U.S. Supreme Court
Source: http://www.outlawslegal.com/refer/ch02.htm accessed December 20, 2004
Another way to view the US Court system is by viewing the system as a flow chart.
American Court Systems Flow Chart
Top Level: Courts of Last Resort on Appeal
StateSupreme Courts
of Appeal
Called the State Supreme Court in almost all states. It’s the final court of appeal for all but a small number of state cases. If a case involves a right protected by the U.S. Constitution, a party may appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
U.S. Supreme Court
The U. S. Supreme Court is free to accept or reject the cases it will hear. It must, however, hear certain rare mandatory appeals and cases within its original jurisdiction as specified by the Constitution.
Intermediate Courts of Appeal
StateIntermediate Courts of Appeal
40 states have ICAs. These courts are the first court of appeals for most state cases. (In Iowa, this is the Court of Appeals.) In 10 states the state Supreme Court is the only court of appeals.
U. S. Circuit Courts
of Appeal
There are 12 of these courts. Each state and U.S. District Court is in one of the 12 circuits. Each court reviews cases from the U. S. District Courts in its Circuit. Appeals go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
This court reviews civil appeals dealing with minor claims against the U.S. government; appeals in patent-right cases and cases involving inter-national trade disputes.
Base Level:Trial Courts
StateTrial Courts
Almost all cases involving state civil and criminal laws are initially filed in state or local trial courts. They are typically called Municipal, County, District, Circuit, or Superior Courts. In Iowa, they are called “District Courts;” there is one in each county. (See a diagram of the Iowa court system)
Appeals from the state trial court usually go to the state intermediate court of appeals.
About 95% of all court cases in the U.S. come through the state trial courts.
U. S. District Courts
There are 94 federal district courts, which handle criminal and civil cases involving:
lFederal statutes
lThe U.S. constitution
lCivil cases between citizens from different states and the amount of money at stake is more than $75,000 (This is the most common type of case in the U.S. District Court.)
Most appeals from here go to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; some go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
U. S. Court of International Trade
Specializes in cases that involve international trade. Appeals go to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC)
U. S. Claims Court
For federal cases involving amounts over $10,000, conflicts from Indian Claims Commission and cases involving some government contractors. Appeals go to the CAFC.
Source: http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/students/6/index.asp?printable=True accessed December 20, 2005
“Looks”
Between the flow chart, diagrams, power point slides and reading you should now a good understanding of the organization of the US court system. In addition, I want to highlight the terminology known as the”look” a court gives a case. There are basically three types of “looks” or levels of scrutiny the courts use. The depth of judicial review involves three levels of scrutiny: 1) strict, 2) intermediate, and 3) ordinary. However, in administrative law the following parallel terms are used: 1) hard; 2) soft) and 3) no looks. Hard look is used for substantive rules such as seat belts and airbags. Whereas the soft look is applied to rulemaking procedures. All an administrative agency needs to do is comply with the minimum standards spelled out in the Administrative Procedure Act. No look means that the court does not assert power or authority and leaves everyone as they originally were. Example is Heckler v. Chaney. Below is table that categorizes the different looks.
Looks & Administration
Hard Look
Soft Look
No Look
Substance of Rules
Rulemaking Procedures
Discretionary nonenforcement
Freedom of Information Act
Statutory Interpretation
Estoppel
Adjudicatory decisions
Discretionary Implementation
