Administrative Law Flashcards

A South Carolina agency interprets an ambiguous statute it is charged with administering. On judicial review, courts generally:

Answer: Give the agency's construction respectful consideration but retain final authority to declare the statute's meaning

South Carolina courts give deference to an administering agency's interpretation but ultimately decide questions of law themselves.

In a contested case over a denied environmental permit, which party generally bears the burden of proof before the ALC?

Answer: The party asserting the affirmative of the issue, typically the applicant or moving party

In administrative proceedings the burden rests on the party asserting the affirmative of an issue, ordinarily by a preponderance of the evidence.

A neighborhood group seeks to challenge a state permit issued to a landfill operator. To have standing in the contested case, the group must generally show:

Answer: An injury in fact to a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized

Standing requires a concrete, particularized injury in fact to a legally protected interest, fairly traceable to the challenged action.

An ALC judge who previously served as the prosecuting attorney in the same enforcement matter refuses to recuse. The resulting decision is most vulnerable because:

Answer: Combining prosecutorial and adjudicative roles in the same case violates due process impartiality requirements

Due process forbids an adjudicator from deciding a case in which he or she performed prosecutorial functions, given the intolerable risk of bias.

The doctrine of primary jurisdiction directs that a court should:

Answer: Refer issues within an agency's special competence to the agency before adjudicating them

Primary jurisdiction lets courts refer issues requiring agency expertise or uniformity to the agency first, even when the court has jurisdiction.

A South Carolina agency changes its long-standing interpretation of a regulation and applies the new reading retroactively to punish past conduct. The strongest objection is that retroactive application:

Answer: Violates fair notice and due process where the party lacked warning its conduct was prohibited

Due process fair-notice principles restrict penalizing conduct under an interpretation the regulated party could not have anticipated.

Under the SC APA, a final agency decision in a contested case must include:

Answer: Separately stated findings of fact and conclusions of law

The APA requires final decisions to include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated, to enable meaningful judicial review.