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Administrative Law Judges and Politics

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  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

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Synonyms

ALJs; Judges of Specialized Jurisdiction; Social Security Administrative Law Judges

Definition

An administrative law judge (ALJ) is a trial court judge that resolves claims/disputes involving administrative law within certain agencies (federal or state, depending on the particular judge).

Introduction

A standing debate in American politics and the role of bureaucrats within American politics involves the role of administrative law judges: are they bureaucrats or are they traditional judges? While the jury is still somewhat mixed, Taratoot and Howard (2011) find evidence that the role of an administrative law judge (ALJ) encompasses both bureaucrats and judges, at least with regard to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On the one hand, ALJs are employed as bureaucrats and are encouraged to help ensure that individuals comply with federal agency regulations. On the other hand, the fact that an ALJ is a judge mandates that ALJs have some degree of independence from...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    Benjamin Kassow (Assistant Professor)

Authors
  1. Benjamin Kassow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin Kassow .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Kassow, B. (2018). Administrative Law Judges and Politics. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2533

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