Agency decisions and adjudications are governed by the Administrative Procedure Act. These kinds of proceedings are an exercise of judicial power by an administrative agency.
Agency adjudications can be formal or informal. Formal adjudications are much like the traditional adversarial process with witness testimony, a written record and final decision rendered. On the other hand, informal adjudications are decisions made using various forms of inspections, conferences and negotiations.
Decisions are made by Administrative Law Judges based on their reasoned analysis, findings of fact and conclusions of law. These decisions can be appealed to the highest authority of the agency. Findings of fact in administrative adjudications are non-binding unless supported by substantial evidence. Judicial review is limited to questions of law only.
There are various different sources for agency decisions, both official and unofficial sources. Sources for agency decisions and information include the following:
Official Sources
Unofficial Sources
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).
Finding Agency Decisions and Rulings Online
Individual agency websites may have information on Agency Decisions.
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University of Virginia, Administrative Decisions and Other Actions – By Agency |
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Contains links to agency decisions available on individual agency websites. |
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LSU Federal Agency Index |
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Has links to all the regulatory agencies listed in the U.S. Government Manual. Organized hierarchically, alphabetically and by type of agency group. |
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HeinOnline Federal Agency Documents, Decisions and Appeals |
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Includes the official case law of selected Administrative Agencies such as the NLRB, FCC and IRS. |
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Finding Agency decisions and rulings on LexisNexis |
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From the start screen, Choose Browse Topics > Choose Administrative Law > Contains information on Agency Adjudication and Agency Investigations amongst other topics |
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Finding Agency Decisions and Rulings on Westlaw |
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Federal Materials > Administrative Decisions & Guidance (Allows you to choose materials based on Agency, Jurisdiction or Topic). Also see the Administrative Decisions & Guidance Index for information. |
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The Attorneys General of the United States and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) may promulgate non-binding advisory opinions. These opinions are based on authority by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 28 U.S.C. §§511-513. These opinions carry the weight of both primary and secondary authority because although they are official opinions of an executive officers, they are merely advisory and not mandatory although their content can be persuasive and influence court deliberations and other proceedings. The Opinions of the OLC published from 1934 to the present are compiled in the Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel. Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel are available in print at the UB Law Library |
Full Text of Opinions from the U.S. Dept. of Justice Website |
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The U.S. DOJ website houses selected opinions that the Office of Legal Counsel determined are appropriate for publication. There may be other documents available in the Electronic Reading Room which have been released because of their frequency of request or public or historical interest. |
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US Attorney General Opinions: LexisAdvance contains U.S. Attorney General Opinions from 1791 through current and Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel from 1977 through current. |
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U.S. Attorney General Opinions: WestlawNext has documents released by the attorney general of the United States and the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice. Coverage begins with 1791. |
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LLMC Digital: Contains all 23 volumes of the Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel in .PDF Format. |
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HeinOnline: The HeinOnline U.S. Attorney General & Department of Justice Collection contains the full-text of the Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel. |
In addition to these sources, the United States Code Annotated and United States Code Services also include digests of U.S. Attorney General Opinions.
U.S. Attorney General opinions can be shepardized to find citing sources.
