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Administrative Law Research

Resources to help you get started with Administrative law research.

Overview

Agency adjudications stem from an agency’s judicial power to resolve disputes. They come in two types: formal and informal.

Formal adjudications are governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, §§ 554, 556-557, and reflect the traditional adversarial process with witness testimony, a written record, and a final decision rendered by an administrative law judge (“ALJ”).

Informal adjudications are all other adjudications that are not formal adjudications. They can be procedurally simple or appear to mimic formal adjudications, and everything in between. Non-ALJ adjudicators (such as patent examiners) preside over informal adjudications.

Agency adjudications are a critical ingredient of thorough administrative law research. Unfortunately, there is no central place where all agency adjudications, formal or informal, are published. This guide offers several resources for locating and analyzing both types of adjudications and their rules of procedure.

Sources for Agency Decisions

Administrative adjudication sources can be official (from the government) and unofficial (from sources like Lexis, Westlaw, et al.). The benefit of official sources is knowing that what you are citing is as close to the original source as possible. The downside is that official sources can be hard to locate and navigate, and may not have the same historical depth as unofficial sources. 

Below, this guide will discuss the various official and unofficial sources for administrative adjudications. 

Unofficial Sources for Administrative Adjudications

Source Directions
LexisAdvance

On the Lexis homepage, click Administrative Materials. From here, you can the scope of your search by jurisdiction, self-regulatory areas, and practice area. 

OR

On the Lexis homepage, click "Topics" and choose Administrative Law. From here, you can refine the scope of your search by agency adjudications, agency investigations, and other broad topics.
Westlaw

On the Westlaw homepage, click the "Practice Areas" tab and select a relevant topic. Next, click the "Administrative Decisions & Guidance" link to explore resources applicable to your topic.

Example: Choose a topic area e.g., Antitrust, and you will be directed to a page with links to decisions from agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission.


OR


On the Westlaw homepage, click the "Federal Materials" tab and select Federal Administrative Decisions & Guidance. There, you will find links to both executive branch agencies and offices and independent agencies and offices. Much like the "Practice Areas" route, you'll be able to explore resources relevant to your topic, refined by subject area.

Example: Choose an agency or office, e.g., Department of Labor, and you will be directed to a page with links to decisions by the Administrative Review Board, Benefits Review Board, Sarbanes Oxley Administrative Decisions, and others.

OR

On the Westlaw homepage, click the "Content types" tab and select Administrative Decisions & Guidance. There, in addition to jurisdiction and topic links, you will find the Administrative Decisions & Guidance Index in the "Tools & Resources" column on the right side. There you can browse an extensive list of federal and state agencies and their various materials.

Example: From the Index under "M", select "Merit Systems Protection Board Decisions."
HeinOnline

HeinOnline Federal Agency Documents, Decisions and Appeals includes the official case law of selected Administrative Agencies such as the NLRB, FCC, and IRS.

 

Finding Agency Decisions and Rulings online

Individual agency websites may have information on Agency Decisions. 

USA.gov Contains government information and links to all federal, state and local government websites. It also contains an A to Z list of federal agencies.

See the University of Virginia, Administrative Decisions and Other Actions - By Agency for links to agency decisions available on individual agency websites.

Finding Agency Rules of Procedure

Agency rules of procedure are unique to each agency. These rules of procedure are similar to Court rules and govern agency adjudications and other actions. Examples include the Rules of Practice for FERC found at 18 CFR 385 (FERC website; ECFR, GPO ACCESS, FERC GUIDELINES).

Administrative Decisions and Other Agency Actions

  • Agency Decisions are authorized by law and issued by agencies. These decisions adjudicate violations or interpretations of statutes and regulations. 
  • "Orders" address final actions or dispositions, while "opinions" are the result of contemplated action and advice on the interpretation of statutes and regulations. 
  • There is no central place for these decisions and actions to be published. There are many different places for this information, including official reports issued by agencies or in commercial unofficial reporters and services.