Federal administrative law judges workmostly out of the limelight, only occasionally attracting the attention that their district and appellate court counterparts do. One case now in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is shining a light on these neglected juristsand raising questions about the scope of their judicial independence.
J. Jeremiah Mahoney, the acting chief administrative law judge at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged in a suit that the agency interfered with his independence by selectively assigning cases and failing to provide legal research resources. A federal trial judge in November dismissed the case, setting up a closely watched appeal that the U.S. Department of Justice is trying to stop in its tracks.
