University of Baltimore School of Law Named Home of National Association of Administrative Law Judges
February 25, 2004
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.6190
University of Baltimore School of Law Dean Gilbert A. Holmes announced today that the National Association of Administrative Law Judges (NAALJ) will move its headquarters from Chicago to the School of Law. The move coincides with the naming of John Hardwicke, former chief administrative law judge for the State of Maryland, as executive director of NAALJ. Hardwicke, who led the administrative law component of the state's executive branch for more than 12 years before retiring in 2002, will have an office in the School of Law. From there he will conduct various NAALJ affairs, including the organization and promotion of the group's national conference, which will be held in Baltimore this coming November.
According to its website (www.naalj.org), NAALJ is a nationwide non-profit association dedicated to "the promotion of an impartial professional administrative judiciary adhering to high ethical standards and furthering the recognition and understanding of its necessary role in the function of government." NAALJ, which is allied with but independent of the National Conference of the Administrative Judiciary of the American Bar Association, has about 850 members. It is devoted exclusively to the function of administrative law, and has both bar and non-bar members in its ranks.
"We are greatly pleased to have NAALJ join us at the School of Law," Dean Holmes said. "It is a natural fit, in that Maryland is a recognized leader in the conduct of administrative law hearings, and UB is a training ground for dozens and dozens of the judges and staff members in the field. We welcome the opportunity to have NAALJ here as a clearinghouse for administrative law issues, as well as a working classroom for our students and teachers. This kind of synergy represents the future of legal training--it is theory and practice working literally side by side."
In Maryland, the Office of Administrative Hearings handles all contested state administrative law cases, except for those concerning agencies exempted by law. A citizen with a complaint about an action taken by an agency within the bailiwick of the OAH (including the Departments of Social Services, Environment, Natural Resources, Health and Mental Hygiene, Human Resources, and the Motor Vehicle Administration) may appear before an administrative law judge for an impartial review of civil matters. Although the OAH answers to the governor, in many instances the judges make recommendations to the agencies. Those agencies' final decisions, as well the judges' final decisions, are reviewable by Maryland courts.
In the 14 years since its inception, Maryland's OAH has become a national model for states directing citizens' complaints before an administrative judge working outside the judicial branch. The OAH is currently among the largest central panel agencies in the U.S. Currently, 25 states and the cities of Chicago, New York, and Washington use the administrative law process to handle disputes involving government agencies. NAALJ's widespread membership--from Florida to Alaska--reflects the truly nationwide scope of the movement.
Hardwicke, who served as chief administrative law judge during the Schaefer and first Glendening administrations and was the first in that role when OAH was started, said he expects the new office to serve as a vital education resource for association members, to track recent decisions within the purview of administrative law, to monitor and introduce improvements to relevant technologies, and to serve as a communications center for positions, journal articles, and other items of interest. He added that he is looking forward to bringing NAALJ's operations together into one office, while at the same time bringing to light for law students and the general public the critical role that administrative law judges play in governmental affairs.
"These judges work hard to maintain their impartiality, especially in light of the fact that they have to know so much about the rules and regulations of the agency in question," Hardwicke said. "Many of these judges are younger, and more than half of them are women. As a group, they are intent on making the right decision, because they know that if the case is appealed, they have made the job that much easier for the judge who hears that appeal."
Hardwicke said the UB connection made perfect sense to him, because the School of Law is teaching state administrative law and does much to meet the state's demand for future administrative law judges. He noted that he has hired a UB law student to serve as an administrative assistant.
"We've hung the NAALJ shingle on the front door of the ideal institution," he said. "I believe it will benefit both the School of Law and the association in equal terms, because we are both about learning, then applying what we learn."