New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings

Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings
Court overview
Formed July 25, 1979 (1979-07-25)
Jurisdiction New York City
Headquarters 100 Church St.,
New York, NY 10007
Court executive
  • Fidel F. Del Valle, chief administrative law judge
Key document
Website nyc.gov/oath

The New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is an administrative court of the New York City government. It is a non-mayoral executive agency and is not part of the state Unified Court System.

Structure and jurisdiction

OATH is composed of the:[2][3][4]

OATH adjudicates for all city agencies unless otherwise provided for by executive order, rule, law or pursuant to collective bargaining agreements.[1] However, except as to issues involving employee discipline, OATH hearings are the exception rather than the rule.[5] In 2003, New York City had roughly 61 city agencies employing an estimated 500 lawyers as administrative law judges and/or hearing officers/examiners.[5] Non-OATH tribunals that also operate in New York City include:

Procedure

Unlike state criminal courts (such as the New York City Criminal Court), OATH does not guarantee a right to counsel,[7] a fine is the most serious outcome, and a failure to appear results in a default judgment not an arrest warrant.[8]

History

OATH was created by Mayor Ed Koch with Executive Order 32 on July 25, 1979, and by an amendment to the New York City Charter at the general election on November 8, 1988. The Board of Standards and Appeals was consolidated with OATH by an amendment to the charter effective July 1, 1991.[9] Fidel Del Valle was appointed as commissioner and chief judge of OATH by mayor de Blasio in 2014.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 New York City Charter § 1048; "There shall be an office of administrative trials and hearings which shall conduct adjudicatory hearings for all agencies of the city unless otherwise provided for by executive order, rule, law or pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. The office shall be directed by the chief administrative law judge, who shall be an attorney admitted to practice for at least five years in the state of New York. The chief administrative law judge shall be appointed by the mayor."
  2. 1 2 3 Cohen, Sherry M.; Weiss, Joanna (2009). "Know Your Audience: How NYC Tribunals Have Addressed Self-Represented Litigants and Increased Access to Justice". J. Nat'l Ass'n Admin. L. Judiciary. 29 (2): 487–493.
  3. ↑ New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. "Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings". Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  4. ↑ New York City Charter § 659(a); "There shall be an independent board of standards and appeals located within the office of administrative trials and hearings. The board of standards and appeals shall consist of five members to be termed commissioners to be appointed by the mayor each for a term of six years."
  5. 1 2 New York County Lawyers' Association Task Force on Judicial Selection Subcommittee on Administrative Law Judge Reform (2005). Administrative Law Judge Reform Report (PDF). New York County Lawyers' Association.
  6. 1 2 Zimmerman, Joseph F. (2008). The Government and Politics of New York State (2nd ed.). SUNY Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-7914-7435-8.
  7. ↑ Goldensohn, Rosa (15 January 2016). "Another downside to the council's 'broken windows' fix emerges". Crain's New York Business.
  8. ↑ Flegenheimer, Matt; Goodman, J. David (15 July 2015). "Public Urination in New York Becomes Test Case for Policing". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ Local law 49 of 1991
  10. ↑ Rubinstein, Dana (October 22, 2014). "De Blasio appoints another taxi industry favorite". Capital New York.

External links

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