SC Bar Administrative Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the South Carolina Administrative Procedures Act, contested cases from most state agencies are heard in the first instance by which tribunal?
- The Administrative Law Court (Correct answer)
- The circuit court
- The court of common pleas sitting en banc
- The South Carolina Court of Appeals
Correct answer: The Administrative Law Court
The SC Administrative Law Court (ALC) is the executive-branch tribunal that hears most contested cases under the APA.
Question 2: A South Carolina agency denies a professional license after an evidentiary hearing. On judicial review, the reviewing court may reverse the agency's factual findings only if they are:
- Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record (Correct answer)
- Unsupported by any scintilla of evidence
- Contrary to the court's own independent weighing of the evidence
- Based on testimony the court finds less credible than opposing testimony
Correct answer: Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record
S.C. Code § 1-23-380 permits reversal of factual findings only when clearly erroneous in view of the substantial evidence on the whole record.
Question 3: Before a South Carolina agency may adopt a new regulation of general applicability, the APA generally requires the agency to:
- Publish notice in the State Register and provide an opportunity for public comment (Correct answer)
- Obtain unanimous approval from the Governor's cabinet
- Hold a jury trial on the regulation's reasonableness
- Secure a declaratory judgment from the circuit court
Correct answer: Publish notice in the State Register and provide an opportunity for public comment
Notice in the State Register and an opportunity for public comment are core rulemaking requirements under the SC APA.
Question 4: In South Carolina, most proposed regulations do not become effective until they have been:
- Submitted to the General Assembly for legislative review (Correct answer)
- Ratified by a statewide referendum
- Approved by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
- Certified by the Attorney General as constitutional
Correct answer: Submitted to the General Assembly for legislative review
The SC APA requires submission of most proposed regulations to the General Assembly, which may disapprove them during the review period.
Question 5: A party who is dissatisfied with a final decision of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court in a contested case generally seeks review in:
- The South Carolina Court of Appeals (Correct answer)
- The county magistrate court
- A federal district court
- The Governor's office of executive clemency
Correct answer: The South Carolina Court of Appeals
Appeals from final ALC decisions generally go to the South Carolina Court of Appeals under § 1-23-610.
Question 6: A doctrine requiring a litigant to pursue all available agency remedies before seeking judicial relief is known as:
- Exhaustion of administrative remedies (Correct answer)
- Collateral estoppel
- Sovereign immunity
- The rule against perpetuities
Correct answer: Exhaustion of administrative remedies
Exhaustion requires completion of the administrative process before courts will intervene.
Question 7: Under the South Carolina APA, a 'contested case' is a proceeding in which:
- The legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined after an opportunity for a hearing (Correct answer)
- Any citizen files a complaint against a state employee
- Two agencies dispute their overlapping jurisdiction
- The Governor vetoes a regulation
Correct answer: The legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined after an opportunity for a hearing
The APA defines a contested case as one where legal rights, duties, or privileges must be determined after an opportunity for hearing.
SC Bar Administrative Law 2
Under the South Carolina Administrative Procedures Act, contested cases from most state agencies are heard in the first instance by which tribunal?