administrative law judge

An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law—that is, involving administrative units of the executive branch of government. ALJs can administer oaths, take testimony, rule on questions of evidence, and make factual and legal determinations. The term refers only to a quasi-judicial official who decides claims or disputes under the formal provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act governing adjudication, and "it is not (as many law students mistakenly assume) a generic phrase that can be used to describe any agency adjudicator". In the United States, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that the role of a federal administrative law judge is "fu...