Federal Agency Adjudication

In August and September 2020, the Gray Center co-hosted a Symposium on Federal Agency Adjudication, alongside the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) and the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR).

The symposium consisted of five virtual panel discussions. You can see additional details and view the video recordings for each session below.

ACUS has also provided some additional resources related to adjudication, which are available here.

Panel 1: Appointment and Removal of Federal Agency Adjudicators

August 6, 2020 – 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT

This panel explored the constitutional issues surrounding the appointment and removal of agency adjudicators and how agencies have and could address those issues in selecting and removing adjudicators.

Panelists:

• • • • Margaret Miller, Administrative Law Judge, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; Treasurer, Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference
      • Linda Jellum, Associate Dean for Faculty Research & Development and Ellison Capers Palmer Sr. Professor of Tax Law, Mercer University School of Law
      • Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
      • Michael Rappaport, Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law

Moderator:

• • • • William Funk, Lewis & Clark Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Lewis & Clark Law School

Panel 2: Managing Federal Agency Adjudication Programs

August 11, 2020 – 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT

This panel explored how agencies can use appellate review and enhanced case-management and quality assurance techniques to promote accurate, consistent, and efficient decision making in high-volume adjudicative programs.

Panelists:

• • • • Daniel E. Ho, William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
      • James McHenry, Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice
      • Christopher J. Walker, John W. Bricker Professor of Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
      • Melissa Feeney Wasserman, Charles Tilford McCormick Professor of Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Moderator:

• • • • Anna W. Shavers, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Cline Williams Professor of Citizenship Law, University of Nebraska College of Law

Panel 3: Procedures of Federal Agency Adjudication

August 21, 2020 – 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT

This panel explored possible procedural reforms that the executive branch or Congress might adopt to improve agency adjudications.

Panelists:

• • • • Kent Barnett, J. Alton Hosch Associate Professor of Law, University of Georgia School of Law
      • Emily Bremer, Associate Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
      • Bijal Shah, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
      • Matthew L. Wiener, Acting Chairman, Administrative Conference of the United States

Moderator: 

• • • • Renée Landers, Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School

Panel 4: Alternatives to Traditional Agency Adjudication

August 27, 2020 – 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT

This panel explored alternatives to federal agency adjudication, including independent administrative tribunals, Article I courts, and general or specialized Article III courts.

Panelists:

• • • • Hon. Ronald A. Cass, Cass & Associates, PC; Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Law
      • Robert L. Glicksman, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, The George Washington University Law School
      • Michael Greve, Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
      • Richard E. Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Kansas School of Law
      • A. Ashley Tabaddor, President, National Association of Immigration Judges

Moderator:

• • • • Adam J. White, Assistant Professor, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Panel 5: The State of Administrative Adjudication

Recorded September 4, 2020

Concluding the Symposium, three of the foremost administrative law scholars offer their thoughts on the state of administrative adjudication.

Panelists:

• • • • Michael Asimow, Dean’s Executive Professor of Law, Santa Clara Law School
      • Jeffrey Lubbers, Professor of Practice in Administrative Law, American University Washington College of Law
      • Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School

Moderator:

• • • • Jeremy Graboyes, Deputy Research Director, Administrative Conference of the United States
      • Adam J. White, Assistant Professor, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School