DOCSLIB.ORG

Administrative Law: Procedural Due Process and Other Issues

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Administrative Law: Procedural Due Process and Other Issues Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Digital Repository @ Maurer Law Articles by Maurer Faculty Faculty Scholarship 1980 Administrative Law: Procedural Due Process and Other Issues A. Dan Tarlock Indiana University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub Part of the Administrative Law Commons Recommended Citation Tarlock, A. Dan, "Administrative Law: Procedural Due Process and Other Issues" (1980). Articles by Maurer Faculty. 2390. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/2390 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by Maurer Faculty by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS AND OTHER ISSUES A. DAN TARLOCK* Classic federal administrative law concerns itself with three great questions: the allocation of functions between the three constitutional branches of government and the extra-constitutional administrative agency, the procedures that an agency must follow in adjudication and rulemaking, and the proper role of the courts in reviewing administra- tive discretion.' Thus, the traditional role of the courts has been to delineate agencies' constitutional and statutory mandates, create and enforce procedural rights for private individuals enmeshed in the ad- ministrative process, and develop standards and procedures for judicial 2 review of administrative action. In the past decade, classic administrative law has been supple- mented by a "new" administrative law which expands the rights of in- dividuals to obtain judicial review of administrative action on behalf of the public generally and takes a more active role in supervising the manner in which administrative agencies exercise the discretion to reg- ulate and plan in the public interest. 3 The "new" administrative law is basically the province of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court since the cases which present courts with an opportunity to "reform" the process are generally litigated first in the District of Columbia. Classic administrative law issues, however, continue to dominate the work of the ten circuits, as this review of the important Seventh, Circuit administrative law cases illustrates. The administrative law work of a circuit court outside the District of Columbia basically con- sists of the demanding task of interpreting United States Supreme Court decisions imposing new procedural duties on informal adjudica- tion and the less demanding but important task of refining the statutory and constitutional procedural rights of regulated individuals and polic- * Professor of Law, Indiana University, Bloomington; LL.B, Stanford University; B.A., Stanford University. 1. See K. DAVIS, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW TREATISE § 1.5 (2d ed. 1978). 2. See Stewart, The Reformation ofAmerican Administrative Law, 88 HARV. L. REV. 1667 (1975) [hereinafter referred to as Stewart]. 3. See Stewart, supra note 2. See also W. GELLHORN & C. BYSE, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 144-45 (6th ed. 1974). CHICAGO-KENT LAW REVIEW ing the routine exercises of discretion by administrative agencies. Dur- ing 1978-79, the Seventh Circuit rendered several important procedural due process opinions and decided some equally interesting cases on ex- haustion of administrative remedies, the retroactive effect of agency or- ders, and the availability of mandamus. These and other 1978-79 administrative law cases are discussed in this article. PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS The principle judicial counter to the growing dependence of most citizens on the welfare state has been the recognition of procedural due process rights for public employees and benefits claimants. The United States Supreme Court has created these rights in a series of major precedents4 but no consistent theory has emerged as the Court has con- sistently, and correctly, refused to hold that citizens have an absolute entitlement to public employment or benefits5 and announce uniform due process standards. 6 It falls to the circuits and the state courts to 7 apply the delphic pronouncements of the Court. The Seventh Circuit in 1978-79 decided five important procedural due process cases involving informal agency adjudication. Three pub- lic employment cases were decided:8 one, a pathbreaking opinion, was written, withdrawn and later reissued 9 and the other two cases split on the question of the fairness of the agency procedure under review. In the two public benefits cases,' 0 the court showed more sympathy for welfare claimants than the United States Supreme Court has exhibited recently. The Seventh Circuit, in one case, refused to make a major extension of Supreme Court precedents after a careful analysis of the competing issues I and in the second case announced a significant, new 2 right to counsel rule for some welfare benefits claimants.' 4. See generally Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 786 (1976); Perry v. Sinderman, 408 U.S. 593 (1972); Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972); Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970). 5. Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341 (1976). 6. See id.; Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970). 7. The Court's rapid twists and turns on what interests qualify for due process protection are set out in L. TRIBE, AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW § 10-9 (1978) [hereinafter referred to as TRIBE]. 8. Larry v. Lawler, 605 F.2d 954 (7th Cir. 1978); Winston v. United States Postal Service, 585 F.2d 198 (7th Cir. 1978); Paige v. Harris, 584 F.2d 178 (7th Cir. 1978). 9. Larry v. Lawler, 605 F.2d 954 (7th Cir. 1978). 10. Smith v. Secretary of HEW, 587 F.2d 857 (7th Cir. 1978); Wright v. Califano, 587 F.2d 345 (7th Cir. 1978). 1i. Wright v. Califano, 587 F.2d 345 (7th Cir. 1978). 12. Smith v. Secretary of HEW, 587 F.2d 857 (7th Cir. 1978). ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Public Employment Cases Procedural Due Process Rights Prior to Employment In Larry v. Lawler,'3 the Seventh Circuit wrote a procedural due process opinion which extended the United States Supreme Court's un- derstanding of what interests are entitled to procedural protection. The opinion, however, was withdrawn under the Seventh Circuit's Rule 3514 which prohibits citation of the case in any written document or oral argument filed or made in the circuit. Then, in a surprising move, the Seventh Circuit reissued and published the opinion. The decision was apparently initially withdrawn after the court had second thoughts about the precedent and the government planned to petition for an en banc hearing. Regardless of the reissuance, the initial decision to with- draw the opinion raises interesting questions about the public's right to know of important court decisions as well as questions about the merits of the decision. Larry v. Lawler15 was a suit by a rejected applicant for civil service eligibility, alleging that he had been deprived of procedural due process when he was not given a hearing to examine the evidence' 6 which formed the basis of the rejection. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the government defendants. 17 The Seventh Cir- cuit determined that the applicant might well have been deprived of procedural due process.18 In so doing, the court found due process de- nied because "[i]n effect, Larry has been stigmatized throughout the entire federal government . [and] deprived of the opportunity to work in any capacity for any branch of the government." 19 Larry is the first case to recognize procedural rights prior to employment by the federal government 20 and is a significant extension of a recent United States Supreme Court opinion which gave increasing weight to the gov- ernment's interest in administrative efficiency in deciding what process, 13. 605 F.2d 954 (7th Cir. 1978). 14. 7TH CIR. R. 35(2)(iv). 15. 605 F.2d 954 (7th Cir. 1978). 16. The evidence which formed the basis of the rejection concerned a history of alcoholism. Id. at 959. 17. 413 F. Supp. 185 (N.D. 111.1976). 18. 605 F.2d at 962. 19. Id at 958. 20. The two cases decided since Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972), which have considered the issue, refused to recognize a right to procedural due process when a person is considered for public employment. Counts v. United States Postal Serv., 18 Empl. Prac. Dec. 8788, 17 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. 1161, 1164 (N.D. Fla. 1978); Thompson v. Link, 386 F. Supp. 897, 899 (E.D. Mo. 1974). Cf. Jackson v. Nassau County Civil Serv. Comm'n, 424 F. Supp. 1162 (E.D. N.Y. 1976) (substantive due process). See generally Note, The Interests in Reputation and Employment-Paul v. Davis and Bishop v. Wood, 18 B.C. INDUS. & CoM. L. REV. 545 (1977). CHIC,4GO-KENT LAW REVIEW if any, is due.21 The narrow holding in Larry is not, however, of great significance since the Civil Service Reform Act of 197822 provides a right to an oral hearing in cases such as Larry. Nevertheless, the opin- ion is an important Seventh Circuit and national precedent for the ex- pansion of procedural due process at a time when the Supreme Court is limiting the situations in which the Constitution guarantees a right to a hearing with respect to low visibility administrative decisions. Thus, the decision to withdraw and then reissue the opinion is significant. Larry would seem to be a prime candidate for publication under the Seventh Circuit's Rule 35.23 Rule 35 provides that only opinions which meet the following criteria should be published: (i) Establish a new or change in existing rule of law; (ii) Involve an issue of continuing public interest; (iii) Criticize or question existing law; (iv) Constitute a significant and non-duplicative contribution to le- gal literature .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Federal Register/Vol. 84, No. 248/Friday, December 27, 2019
    71714 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 248 / Friday, December 27, 2019 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION procedures for the review and clearance Department’s rulemaking process can be of guidance documents; and (3) a found at 49 CFR 5.5. Office of the Secretary General Counsel memorandum, This final rule reflects the existing ‘‘Procedural Requirements for DOT role of the Department’s Regulatory 14 CFR Parts 11, 300, and 302 Enforcement Actions’’ (February 15, Reform Task Force in the development 2019),3 which clarifies the procedural of the Department’s regulatory portfolio 49 CFR Parts 1, 5, 7, 106, 211, 389, 553, requirements governing enforcement and ongoing review of regulations. and 601 actions initiated by the Department, Established in response to Executive including administrative enforcement Order 13777, ‘‘Enforcing the Regulatory RIN 2105–AE84 proceedings and judicial enforcement Reform Agenda’’ (February 24, 2017), Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, actions brought in Federal court. the Regulatory Reform Task Force is the and Enforcement Procedures This final rule removes the existing Department’s internal body, chaired by procedures on rulemaking, which are the Regulatory Reform Officer, tasked AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of outdated and inconsistent with current with evaluating proposed and existing Transportation (OST), U.S. Department departmental practice, and replaces regulations and making of Transportation (DOT). them with a comprehensive set of recommendations to the Secretary of ACTION: Final rule. procedures that will increase Transportation regarding their transparency, provide for more robust promulgation, repeal, replacement, or SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth a public participation, and strengthen the modification, consistent with applicable comprehensive revision and update of overall quality and fairness of the law.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Question Doctrine: Justiciability and the Separation of Powers
    The Political Question Doctrine: Justiciability and the Separation of Powers Jared P. Cole Legislative Attorney December 23, 2014 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R43834 The Political Question Doctrine: Justiciability and the Separation of Powers Summary Article III of the Constitution restricts the jurisdiction of federal courts to deciding actual “Cases” and “Controversies.” The Supreme Court has articulated several “justiciability” doctrines emanating from Article III that restrict when federal courts will adjudicate disputes. One justiciability concept is the political question doctrine, according to which federal courts will not adjudicate certain controversies because their resolution is more proper within the political branches. Because of the potential implications for the separation of powers when courts decline to adjudicate certain issues, application of the political question doctrine has sparked controversy. Because there is no precise test for when a court should find a political question, however, understanding exactly when the doctrine applies can be difficult. The doctrine’s origins can be traced to Chief Justice Marshall’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison; but its modern application stems from Baker v. Carr, which provides six independent factors that can present political questions. These factors encompass both constitutional and prudential considerations, but the Court has not clearly explained how they are to be applied. Further, commentators have disagreed about the doctrine’s foundation: some see political questions as limited to constitutional grants of authority to a coordinate branch of government, while others see the doctrine as a tool for courts to avoid adjudicating an issue best resolved outside of the judicial branch. Supreme Court case law after Baker fails to resolve the matter.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nondelegation Doctrine: Alive and Well
    \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDL\93-2\NDL204.txt unknown Seq: 1 28-DEC-17 10:20 THE NONDELEGATION DOCTRINE: ALIVE AND WELL Jason Iuliano* & Keith E. Whittington** The nondelegation doctrine is dead. It is difficult to think of a more frequently repeated or widely accepted legal conclusion. For generations, scholars have maintained that the doctrine was cast aside by the New Deal Court and is now nothing more than a historical curiosity. In this Article, we argue that the conventional wisdom is mistaken in an important respect. Drawing on an original dataset of more than one thousand nondelegation challenges, we find that, although the doctrine has disappeared at the federal level, it has thrived at the state level. In fact, in the decades since the New Deal, state courts have grown more willing to invoke the nondelegation doctrine. Despite the countless declarations of its demise, the nondelegation doctrine is, in a meaningful sense, alive and well. INTRODUCTION .................................................. 619 R I. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE NONDELEGATION DOCTRINE . 621 R A. The Doctrine’s Life ..................................... 621 R B. The Doctrine’s Death ................................... 623 R II. THE STRUCTURE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION ....... 626 R III. THE PERSISTENCE OF THE NONDELEGATION DOCTRINE ...... 634 R A. Success Rate .......................................... 635 R B. Pre– and Post–New Deal Comparison .................... 639 R C. Representative Cases.................................... 643 R CONCLUSION .................................................... 645 R INTRODUCTION The story of the nondelegation doctrine’s demise is a familiar one. Eighty years ago, the New Deal Court discarded this principle, and since then, this once-powerful check on administrative expansion has had no place in our constitutional canon.
    [Show full text]
  • 19-161 Department of Homeland Security V
    (Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2019 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ET AL. v. THURAISSIGIAM CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 19–161. Argued March 2, 2020—Decided June 25, 2020 The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) provides for the expedited removal of certain “applicants” seeking admission into the United States, whether at a designated port of entry or elsewhere. 8 U. S. C. §1225(a)(1). An applicant may avoid expedited removal by demonstrating to an asylum officer a “credible fear of persecution,” defined as “a significant possibility . that the alien could establish eligibility for asylum.” §1225(b)(1)(B)(v). An ap- plicant who makes this showing is entitled to “full consideration” of an asylum claim in a standard removal hearing. 8 CFR §208.30(f). An asylum officer’s rejection of a credible-fear claim is reviewed by a su- pervisor and may then be appealed to an immigration judge. §§208.30(e)(8), 1003.42(c), (d)(1). But IIRIRA limits the review that a federal court may conduct on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
    [Show full text]
  • Lions Over the Throne - the Udicj Ial Revolution in English Administrative Law by Bernard Schwartz N
    Penn State International Law Review Volume 6 Article 8 Number 1 Dickinson Journal of International Law 1987 Lions Over The Throne - The udicJ ial Revolution In English Administrative Law by Bernard Schwartz N. David Palmeter Follow this and additional works at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Palmeter, N. David (1987) "Lions Over The Throne - The udJ icial Revolution In English Administrative Law by Bernard Schwartz," Penn State International Law Review: Vol. 6: No. 1, Article 8. Available at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilr/vol6/iss1/8 This Review is brought to you for free and open access by Penn State Law eLibrary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Penn State International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Penn State Law eLibrary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lions Over the Throne - The Judicial Revolution in English Administrative Law, by Bernard Schwartz, New York and London: New York University Press, 1987 Pp. 210. Reviewed by N. David Palmeter* We learn more about our own laws when we undertake to compare them with those of another sovereign. - Justice San- dra Day O'Connor' In 1964, half a dozen years before Goldberg v. Kelly' began "a due process explosion" 3 in the United States, Ridge v. Baldwin4 be- gan a "natural justice explosion" in England. The story of this explo- sion - of this judicial revolution - is the story of the creation and development by common law judges of a system of judicial supervi- sion of administrative action that, in many ways, goes far beyond the system presently prevailing in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • The Availability of Mandamus As a Vehicle for Administrative Review
    The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron Akron Law Review Akron Law Journals January 2019 The vA ailability of Mandamus as a Vehicle for Administrative Review Jane E. Bond Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Follow this and additional works at: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview Recommended Citation Bond, Jane E. (1976) "The vA ailability of Mandamus as a Vehicle for Administrative Review," Akron Law Review: Vol. 9 : Iss. 4 , Article 11. Available at: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol9/iss4/11 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by Akron Law Journals at IdeaExchange@UAkron, the institutional repository of The nivU ersity of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Akron Law Review by an authorized administrator of IdeaExchange@UAkron. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Bond: Comment THE AVAILABILITY OF MANDAMUS AS A VEHICLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW INTRODUCTION Law has reached its finest moments when it has freed man from the unlimited discretion of some ruler ... some bureaucrat. Where dis- cretion is absolute, man has always suffered.' The potential injustice inherent in vesting absolute discretion with a single individual has long been viewed with alarm. One antidote which our legal system has prescribed is administered under the broad heading of judicial review. While it may appear in different forms-appeal by right, through extraordinary writ, or to a lesser degree, by referral through a bureaucratic structure or to an ombudsman'- the principle upon which it is grounded remains the same.
    [Show full text]
  • 20180627154855528 Petition for Writ of Certiorari.Pdf
    No. _________ ================================================================ In The Supreme Court of the United States --------------------------------- --------------------------------- CHOCTAW COUNTY AND CLOYD HALFORD, Petitioners, v. JESSICA JAUCH, Respondent. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- On Petition For Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit --------------------------------- --------------------------------- PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI --------------------------------- --------------------------------- DANIEL J. GRIFFITH Counsel of Record CHRISTOPHER N. BAILEY JACKS GRIFFITH LUCIANO, P.A. 150 North Sharpe Avenue P.O. Box 1209 Cleveland, MS 38732 Telephone: (662) 843-6171 Fax: (662) 843-6176 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Attorneys for Choctaw County, Mississippi and Cloyd Halford ================================================================ COCKLE LEGAL BRIEFS (800) 225-6964 WWW.COCKLELEGALBRIEFS.COM i QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Sheriff ’s Department detained Respondent for ninety-six days pursuant to a capias issued by the state circuit court following a grand jury’s indictment for the sale of a controlled substance. The capias com- manded the Sheriff to “take” and “safely keep” Re- spondent “so that you have his/her body before the Circuit Court of Choctaw County” at the next immedi- ate term of court. Respondent was arrested on unre- lated charges after an intervening term of court. The questions presented are: 1. Whether a pretrial detainee’s procedural due process rights under the Fourteenth Amend- ment have been violated when she was held for ninety-six days pursuant to a capias issued by a state circuit court following a grand jury indictment and when she was otherwise af- forded all procedural due process safeguards to which she was entitled under state law. 2. Whether a county and local county sheriff can be held liable under 42 U.S.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Department of Health and Human Services
    This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 01/14/2021 and available online at federalregister.gov/d/2021-00592, and on govinfo.gov [Billing Code: 4150-26] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 45 CFR Part 1 HHS-OS-2021-0001 RIN: 0991-AC18 Department of Health and Human Services Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement Actions AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services is issuing regulations promoting transparency and fairness in civil enforcement actions. These regulations will help to ensure that regulated parties receive fair notice of laws and regulations they are subject to, and have an opportunity to contest an agency determination prior to the agency taking an action that has a legal consequence. DATES: Effective January 12, 2021. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenna Jenny, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence, Avenue, S.W., Room 713F, Washington, D.C. 20201. Email: [email protected]. Telephone: (202) 690- 7741. I. Statutory and Regulatory Background The primary legal authority supporting this rulemaking is 5 U.S.C. 301. That provision provides that the “head of an Executive department or military department may prescribe regulations for the government of his department, the conduct of its employees, the distribution and performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of its records, papers, and property.” This statute authorizes an “agency to regulate its own affairs,” and issue rules, such as this one, that are “rules of agency organization[,] procedure or practice.” Chrysler Corp.
    [Show full text]
  • 14Th Amendment US Constitution
    FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS GUARANTEED PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF CITIZENSHIP, DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION CONTENTS Page Section 1. Rights Guaranteed ................................................................................................... 1565 Citizens of the United States ............................................................................................ 1565 Privileges and Immunities ................................................................................................. 1568 Due Process of Law ............................................................................................................ 1572 The Development of Substantive Due Process .......................................................... 1572 ``Persons'' Defined ................................................................................................. 1578 Police Power Defined and Limited ...................................................................... 1579 ``Liberty'' ................................................................................................................ 1581 Liberty of Contract ...................................................................................................... 1581 Regulatory Labor Laws Generally ...................................................................... 1581 Laws Regulating Hours of Labor ........................................................................ 1586 Laws Regulating Labor in Mines .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Petitioner, V
    No. 20-____ IN THE Supreme Court of the United States _______________________ LLOYD HARRIS, Petitioner, v. STATE OF MARYLAND, Respondent. _______________________ On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland _______________________ PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI _______________________ AMIR H. ALI Counsel of Record MEGHA RAM* RODERICK & SOLANGE MACARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER 777 6th Street NW, 11th Fl. Washington, DC 20001 (202) 869-3434 [email protected] Counsel for Petitioner *Admitted only in California; not admitted in D.C. Practicing under the supervision of the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center. QUESTION PRESENTED In United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783 (1977), this Court considered the prosecution’s “long delay” of “more than 18 months” to indict the defendant for a crime. Id. at 784, 786. The Court concluded that on the facts before it, 18 months of delay for “further in- vestigation” did not offend standards of “fair play and decency” so as to violate due process. Id. at 793-96. But the Court refrained from articulating “in the first instance” a general test for when prejudicial preindict- ment delay violates due process, instead opting to give lower courts “a sustained opportunity to consider the constitutional significance of various reasons for de- lay.” Id. at 796-97. Four decades later, all circuits, nearly every state high court, and the D.C. Court of Appeals have had the opportunity to consider the proper test for analyz- ing excessive preindictment delay, and they are en- trenched in a well-acknowledged conflict. Applying Maryland’s rigid improper-motive test, the court be- low held that twenty years of delay before indicting pe- titioner—including sixteen years in which, by the State’s account, “no significant new evidence was de- veloped”—fulfilled due process.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutionally Protected Due Process and the Use of Criminal Intelligence Provisions 125
    2014 Constitutionally Protected Due Process and the Use of Criminal Intelligence Provisions 125 CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED DUE PROCESS AND THE USE OF CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE PROVISIONS ANTHONY GRAY * I INTRODUCTION Demands for government response to perceived threats to national security and personal safety, government incentives to appear ‘tough on crime’ and the absence of an express bill of rights have combined to fuel ever-increasing government intrusions on fundamental rights and liberties that were once thought to be beyond reproach. Recent examples in the Australian context have included property confiscation laws, in the absence of a specific allegation or finding of guilt, reverse onus provisions, curtailment of the right to silence, criminalisation of mere acts of association, and executive detention of individuals. A current area of controversy is the use of ‘closed court’ processes in particular cases, aligned with the adoption of a court process whereby the person affected by the proceeding may lose the opportunity to see or hear the evidence being led against them, and with that the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses being used. These types of laws offend several fundamental rights, but are claimed by governments to be necessary to protect witnesses and secure important evidence. For ease of reference, and because this is the phrasing used by the relevant legislation in Australia, I will refer to these as ‘criminal intelligence provisions’. This type of legislation raises broader questions, specifically the extent to which a ‘due process’ principle may be derived from Chapter III of the Constitution (‘Chapter III’), and the extent to which such a principle might be engaged to preserve and protect fundamental human rights, such as those affected by ‘criminal intelligence’ type provisions.
    [Show full text]
  • Administrative Regulation-Making: Contrasting Parliamentary and Deliberative Legitimacy
    ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION-MAKING: CONTRASTING PARLIAMENTARY AND DELIBERATIVE LEGITIMACY ANDREW EDGAR* While it is clear that administrative regulations can control matters that are morally or politically controversial, the processes by which they are made in Australia do not generally require transparency or public participation, the primary features of delibera- tive democracy. This aspect of Australian law is similar to other Westminster-based parliamentary systems. This article compares regulation-making processes in Australia with regulation-making in the United States, a system that is recognised by administra- tive law scholars to be focused on deliberative democracy. The purpose of the comparison is to highlight the distance between Australian regulation-making systems and a system based on deliberative democracy principles, and to develop an understanding of the regulatory contexts in which such deliberative systems could be established in Australia. CONTENTS I Introduction: Deliberative Democracy and Administrative Law .................... 739 II Regulation-Making in Australia: Between Constitutional and Administrative Law ................................................................................................. 742 III The Fork in the Road: Constitutional Principles ................................................. 746 IV Regulation-Making Legislation .............................................................................. 750 V Grounds of Judicial Review ...................................................................................
    [Show full text]