Between the Lines

Latest Episodes:

The enforcement of adjudication decisions Mar 02, 2024

Show notes

This episode of Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference (ACUS) explores two important cases in administrative law being considered by the United States Supreme Court in the 2023-2024 term.

The first, SEC v. Jarkesy, could make significant changes to how federal administrative agencies conduct enforcement adjudications. It raises three constitutional issues: the 7th amendment right to a jury trial, the “delegation doctrine,” and the constitutional appointment of administrative law judges.

In the second case, Corner Post v. Board of Governors, the Court will rule on when Americans and businesses may go to court to challenge rulemakings by administrative agencies that have caused them harm.

Host Andrew Fois will discuss these cases and the issues they raise with two respected experts in administrative law and procedure. The opinions will be issued by the Court before July 2024.

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Justice Delayed - Justice Denied: Timeliness of Agency Adjudication Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

This episode of Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the US is titled: Justice Delayed/Justice Denied: Timeliness of Agency Adjudication.

The show tackles the all too persistent problem of backlogs and delays that people often face when required to deal with an agency adjudication. Millions of Americans do so every year to obtain benefits, services, permits, and licenses or to respond to accusations of lawbreaking. Delays resolving these matters can have significant consequences.

This episode explores the issue with four expert guests. The first two are ACUS attorneys who conducted an in-depth research report that resulted in an official recommendation, containing proposals for agencies and Congress, adopted by the ACUS assembly.

In the third segment we hear about that recommendation from tje chair of ACUS committee that developed it.

Finally, the acting chair of a small agency will describe how it addressed its recent problem of 'inherited inventory."

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Burdens in the administrative system Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

This episode of “Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)” will investigate how federal administrative agencies can identify and reduce the burdens that the public faces when interacting with these agencies.

Tens of millions of Americans and small businesses must interact with federal administrative agencies every year. They must do so for a wide variety of reasons including seeking information -- claiming health, retirement, VA, housing, or other benefits -- securing permits and licenses -- paying taxes -- responding to enforcement or adjudication challenges and complying with agency rules and regulations.

Too often people and businesse face unacceptable amounts of “red tape” and other obstacles before they can achieve their goals with federal agencies.

This episode takes listeners “between the lines” of efforts to help agencies do a better job of identifying and then addressing and reducing the red tape that experts call an administrative burden.

Two university professors will discuss a report they provided to ACUS laying out the problem. An ACUS committee chair will then talk about a series of proposals, adopted by the Assembly, about how best to confront these problems of identifying and reducing administrative burden.

Finally an OMB attorney will tell us about the efforts it is making to tackle them.

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Supreme Court interpretations of the Chevron deference doctrine Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Between the Lines considers one of the most important cases in administrative law, namely, the Chevron deference doctrine.

Chevron, decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1985,and the subsequent cases that made it into a “doctrine,” deal with how courts should evaluate an administrative agency’s interpretation of its authorizing statute that it claims empowers it to issue the rules in question. Chevron requires courts to apply a two-step analysis that first considers whether the statute in question is clear. If so, the court must then apply that standard. If the statute is unclear, however, the second step requires the court to defer to the agency’s interpretation of the statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable.

The doctrine has been applied by the Supreme Court approximately 100 times in 35 years and not without controversy among legal scholars and practitioners. There are two cases pending before the court this term that offer it the opportunity to reverse or reform the Chevrondoctrine.

This episode discusses these issues with Columbia Law Professor Tom Merrill, author of a recent book on Chevron, Fernando Laguarda, general counsel of AmeriCorps who will provide a perspective from a federal agency, and University of Minnesota Law Professor Kristin Hickman who will bring us up to speed on the two pending cases.

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Episode 3: Federal agency use of machine learning and generative AI Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

This episode of “Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the United States,” tackles the timely and complex issues regarding federal agency use of machine learning, generative AI, and other algorithmic tools in administrative proceedings. These procedures include regulation and rulemaking, enforcement, adjudication, and licensing.

Andrew Fois, host of the show and chair of the Administrative Conference, and his four expert and experienced guests consider such questions as definitions of AI and the other tools, how agencies have been using these tools already, potential benefits of their expanded use by agencies, and the risks associated with using these tools. These guests are all friends of ACUS, and they address the substantial body of work undertaken by ACUS on this subject. They also discuss President Biden's October 30th Executive Order to agencies directing them how to use AI and the accompanying OMB guidance assisting agencies on the best ways to execute that EO.

Guests include:

Professor Dan Ho of Stanford Law School
NYU law Professor Catherine Sharkey
Professor Cary Coglianese of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law
Alexandra Reeve Givens, president and CEO of the Center for Data and Technology.

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Episode 2: Access to justice in administrative procedure Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, host Andy Fois, Chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States, how the interests of regular people and small businesses are represented before federal administrative agencies take actions that effect their interests.

He is joined by:

Amy Widman, Law Professor, Rutgers University
Rachel Rossi, Director of the Office for Access to Justice, Department of Justice
Ron Flag, President of Legal Services Corporation
Lou Virelli, Law Professor, Stetson University Law School

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Episode 1: Introducing Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the United States Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

This inaugural episode of the new FNN show Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the United States takes listeners “between the lines” of issues in administrative law and government procedures, as well as the work of the Administrative Conference (ACUS) on those issues.

This first episode will give you some background information to help you understand what ACUS is, what it does, and what issues its been working on recently and at present. Your host for this program is Andrew Fois, the current ACUS Chair. The guests include former ACUS Chair Paul Verkuil (2010-2015), long-time ACUS Council member Ron Cass, and Council member Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo.

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