GA Bar Administrative Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Georgia administrative contested case, what is the minimum procedural protection due process requires before an agency may deprive a party of a protected interest?
- A jury trial on all disputed facts
- Notice of the agency's action and a meaningful opportunity to be heard (Correct answer)
- An evidentiary hearing before a life-tenured judge
- Unanimous agency board approval of the final order
Correct answer: Notice of the agency's action and a meaningful opportunity to be heard
Due process in administrative adjudication requires, at minimum, notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond before a protected liberty or property interest is taken.
Question 2: An administrative law judge presiding over a Georgia contested case must be disqualified when:
- The ALJ has previously ruled against the same party in a different matter
- The ALJ has a direct personal financial interest in the outcome of the proceeding (Correct answer)
- The ALJ has heard more than three similar cases in the past year
- The ALJ and the agency head disagree on the interpretation of an applicable statute
Correct answer: The ALJ has a direct personal financial interest in the outcome of the proceeding
Personal financial interest in the outcome is a classic basis for disqualification because it destroys the appearance and reality of an impartial tribunal.
Question 3: The prohibition on ex parte communications during formal administrative adjudication is designed primarily to:
- Prevent regulated parties from lobbying the legislature
- Protect the procedural fairness and integrity of the hearing record (Correct answer)
- Shield agency budgets from legislative interference
- Limit judicial review to the formal record
Correct answer: Protect the procedural fairness and integrity of the hearing record
Banning ex parte contacts ensures that all parties can respond to information the decision-maker receives, safeguarding basic fairness in the adjudicatory process.
Question 4: Regarding hearsay evidence in Georgia administrative proceedings, which statement is most accurate?
- Hearsay is inadmissible under the same strict rules that apply in civil court
- Hearsay is completely barred regardless of its reliability
- Hearsay may be admitted if it is relevant and has probative value (Correct answer)
- Hearsay is automatically given less weight than live testimony by statute
Correct answer: Hearsay may be admitted if it is relevant and has probative value
Georgia administrative proceedings apply relaxed evidentiary rules; hearsay is admissible when it possesses sufficient probative value, even if not independently admissible in civil court.
Question 5: When an agency serves as both prosecutor and adjudicator in the same proceeding, the primary constitutional concern implicated is:
- The nondelegation doctrine
- The separation of functions doctrine (Correct answer)
- The void-for-vagueness doctrine
- The primary jurisdiction doctrine
Correct answer: The separation of functions doctrine
The separation of functions doctrine requires that prosecutorial and adjudicative roles be kept sufficiently distinct to ensure an unbiased decision-maker.
Question 6: In a Georgia administrative contested case, the burden of proof is typically placed on:
- The agency in every case regardless of posture
- The party seeking to change existing legal rights or the party asserting a claim (Correct answer)
- The party with less financial resources
- Whoever initiated the proceeding, always the agency
Correct answer: The party seeking to change existing legal rights or the party asserting a claim
General administrative law principles assign the burden of proof to the party seeking affirmative relief or a change in the legal status quo.
Question 7: After an ALJ issues a proposed order in a Georgia contested case, the agency head may:
- Only accept or reject the proposed order in its entirety
- Modify the proposed order solely on questions of law, not fact
- Adopt, reject, or modify the proposed order in whole or in part (Correct answer)
- Refer the matter directly to the superior court without issuing a final order
Correct answer: Adopt, reject, or modify the proposed order in whole or in part
Under the Georgia APA, the agency head retains authority to adopt, modify, or reject the ALJ's proposed order, though findings of fact are given deference.
GA Bar Administrative Law 3
In a Georgia administrative contested case, what is the minimum procedural protection due process requires before an agency may deprive a party of a protected interest?