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21 Admin. & Reg. L. News 1 (1995-1996)

handle is hein.journals/admreln21 and id is 1 raw text is: Published by the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice American Bar Association Fall 1995' Vol 2 1, No. I Professionalism and the Administrative Law Judge by Judge Alexander P White' n recent years there has been a marked trend in efforts to improve the professionalism of Adminis- trative Law Judges (ALJs).2 One aspect of this trend involved the development of educational semi- nars, courses, and programs on administrative law, both substantative and procedural, evidence, and judicial performance. A second aspect included state and federal ALJ performance evaluation A third aspect embraced the creation of state ALJ central hearing panels and efforts to create a federal ALJ corps. Each of these -aspects continues to expand. Ongoing modifications are occurring as a result of a continuing dialogue to determine the most effective methods to improve the professionalism of the ALJ. With respect to the first aspect, several ALJ orga- nizations have developed educational seminars, cours- es, and programs on behalf of their members. These organizationss are several: including the National Conference of Administrative Law Judges (NCALJ) of the Judicial Administration Division (JAD) of the American Bar Association, the Social Security Administration ALJ Association, the National Asso- ciation of Administrative Law Judges (NAALJ), and the Federa! Administrative La v Judges Conference. For example, one educational program entitled Evi- dence fo: the Administrative Law Judge, held in Chicago, Illinois on May 17-19, 1995, reviewed the rules of evidence, and offered practical guidance on the conduct of an evidentiary hearing, including the avoidance of evidentiary errors. It was co-sponsored by the NAALJ, the NCALJ, the Illinois Government Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the State Administrative Law Committee of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulator Prac- Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. 2 For the purposes of this article, I mean to include within the term ALJ both federal ALJs and the state equivalents. Moreover, most of the discussion can apply equally ell to those federal or state hearinsg officers who are not technically considered Adminis- trative Law Judges. Indeed, most of the discussion can apply equally well to judges in the stare and federal judiciary. tice of the ABA. The seminar also explained the mechanics of reviewing the evidence, making find- ings of fact, and deciding the case. Additional courses on administrative law have been added to the curriculum of the National Judi- cial College in Reno, Nevada. The curriculum includes not only basic and advanced administrative law courses but also courses in evidence, word pro- cessing, judicial writing and administrative law in high volume proceedings. Educational guidance has also been provided by organizations which specialize in specific substantive areas. For example, the Inter- national Association of Accident Boards and Com- missions has developed seminars for workers' compensation hearing officers. Also, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America has presented courses in workers' compensation for almost fifty years. With respect to the second aspect of professional- ism, state and federal ALJ performance evaluation, there has been exten- sive study of judicial evaluation, not only for ALJs but for all members of the state and federal judiciary. In 1976, the Alaska M Judicial Council pio- 3 neered the concept of structuring a program to obtain reliable information to help N rom.teSAe k voters make informed decisions in judicial Ro retention elections. The New Jersey Supreme Court soon W followed with a pilot performance-assess- ment program designed to improve judicial performance both indi- vidually and institutionally. New Jersey's program also sought to enrich judicial education, promote Continued/ on pRage 1 Produced by the ABA Press Copyright © 1995 American Bar Association

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