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The Scope of Judicial Review

15 January, 2016 - 09:30

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Describe the “exhaustion of remedies” requirement.
  2. Detail various strategies for obtaining judicial review of agency rules.
  3. Explain under what circumstances it is possible to sue the government.

Neither an administrative agency’s adjudication nor its issuance of a regulation is necessarily final. Most federal agency decisions are appealable to the federal circuit courts. To get to court, the appellant must overcome numerous complex hurdles. He or she must have standing—that is, be in some sense directly affected by the decision or regulation. The case must be ripe for review; administrative remedies such as further appeal within the agency must have been exhausted.