After an administrative law judge renders their final decision, the parties to the matter can file an appeal. Most agencies maintain specific procedures for appealing a decision, and the appeal is usually handled within that agency. It is possible for a person to appeal an initial administrative decision. This can happen when a person is dissatisfied with the results of an administrative hearing or with the reasoning provided by an administrative law judge's decision.
The appellate court's decision will generally be the final word in the case, unless it sends the case back to the trial court for additional proceedings, or the parties ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. In some cases, the decision may be reviewed in banc, that is, by a larger group of judges (usually all) of the circuit court of appeals. Again, this will depend to a large extent on the administrative issue in question, the laws enacted in a given jurisdiction and the discretion of an administrative law court.
In short, an administrative review hearing is simply the first step in overturning the adverse decision of an administrative agency. Finally, your lawyer can also ensure that you are not deprived of your constitutional rights and can let you know if changes have been made to current state or federal administrative laws that could affect the outcome of your administrative case. An appeal of an administrative agency decision, also called an appeal 30A, or request for judicial review of an administrative agency decision, is what you file with the Superior Court when you want a judge to review a final decision made by a state agency. However, there is one exception to whether a person can appeal an administrative decision and that is if there is a law that expressly prohibits the appeal of a particular legal matter.
In other words, after a lower court has reviewed an administrative agency's decision, any further judicial review will be at the discretion of the administrative law court. Remember, only after the petitioner has exhausted all administrative remedies and has gone through the administrative appeal process will they be able to appeal an agency decision within a traditional court. If a petitioner is not satisfied with the decision issued by an administrative law judge, they can file an appeal according to instructions that should have been provided along with the decision of the administrative law judge. An administrative court case reaches an appellate court by first exhausting all administrative proceedings.
If an administrative law court decides to grant a petitioner's appeal, the person will receive a Notice of Hearing informing them of the date and time of their next administrative proceeding. An administrative court may also deny a petitioner's appeal request if an administrative agency's decision is clear or if it is a matter that is best left to a specific agency. For example, if the petitioner can prove that an administrative agency violated a law or acted illegally in making its decision, then an administrative law judge can modify, vacate, revoke, or require the agency to issue a new decision.
