I had to look this one up. An administrative law judge (ALJ) presides over disputes of administrative law – the laws that govern how the various agencies within the government work. Got a dispute with the rules of the Social Security Administration? An ALJ will hear the case. They are members of the executive branch and many are assigned to particular agencies. To be appointed they have to go through a rigorous testing process. According to Wikipedia, “Federal ALJs are the only merit-based judicial corps in the United States.”
Alas, we must change the “are” to “used to be.” The nasty guy issued an executive order that eliminates the testing process. Which means the appointment of an ALJ is now as partisan as the rest of the nasty guy’s administration, ready to defend his bigotry.
No comments:
Post a Comment