TITLE NINE — GENERAL PROVISIONS
Rule 57. Administrative Court Proceedings
The Court. The Administrative Court of the State of Ridgeway is a court of law and equity under the judicial branch of the state, established by 3 R. Stat. § 141.001. It is composed of the sitting Superior Court judges and additional appointees, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.002, and shall not have more than ten (10) administrative court judges, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.003.
Jurisdiction.
The administrative court holds original jurisdiction in all administrative procedures arising from an adverse personnel action against a civil service employee, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.006, and in all matters involving the internal policy or rules of a civil service agency, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.007.
The administrative court shall provide mandatory review where it is provided by state statute, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.009.
The administrative court shall not exercise jurisdiction where it is prohibited from doing so by state statute, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.008.
No superior court judge shall assign or refer an administrative proceeding to a magistrate judge, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 131.203.
The Two Proceedings.
Administrative Claim. An administrative claim is a claim of law asserting that an adverse employment action was arbitrary or without due observance of state statute, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.101. It shall be heard and decided by an administrative court judge, who may use all remedies afforded by state statute.
Administrative Hearing. An administrative hearing is a claim of fact and law arising under mandatory review of a personnel action, and shall be initiated by the civil service agency responsible for the action or by an administrative court judge as a remedy, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.102. It shall be heard and decided by an administrative court judge, who shall grant or reject the punitive action sought by the civil service agency. A civil service agency may alter the punitive action issued but may not exceed the degree of the punitive action authorized by the administrative court.
Applicable Rules.
Administrative procedures follow the Ridgeway Rules of Civil Procedure, except where the Supreme Court has promulgated rules pertaining to administrative procedure, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.104. This rule is such a rule, and governs where it and any other of these rules conflict.
Administrative procedures follow the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence, except where otherwise indicated by state statute, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.103, and as modified by subdivision (7) of this rule.
Commencement; Filing; Parties.
Commencement. An administrative claim is commenced by the employee, and an administrative hearing is commenced by the civil service agency or by an administrative court judge, through the electronic filing system. The matter is opened in the Superior Court, the administrative court being composed of its judges, and shall be captioned “Administrative Claim” or “Administrative Hearing” as the case may be. A fee is assessed on filing and is collected as a debt; non-payment neither delays nor defeats the matter.
Parties. The parties to an administrative claim are the employee and the civil service agency whose action is challenged. The parties to an administrative hearing are the civil service agency and the employee whose conduct is in issue. The agency shall be named by its lawful name and shall appear through its administrative head or through counsel.
Service. Service is effected by the electronic filing system upon the Clerk’s acceptance of a filing. Where the agency is not a participant in the matter, the initiating party shall in addition deliver a copy of the initiating paper to the administrative head of the agency in the manner Rule 56(2)(c) prescribes.
Assignment. The matter shall be assigned to an administrative court judge. Neither the Clerk’s acceptance of a filing nor the assignment of a judge determines the court’s jurisdiction under subdivision (2).
Time for Hearing.
Seventy-Two Hours. Administrative hearings shall be conducted within seventy-two (72) hours after the filing of the hearing, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.108. The period runs continuously in Coordinated Universal Time from the moment the electronic filing system records the filing as complete.
Failure to Hear. Where the administrative court fails to hear an administrative hearing within the allotted time, and the civil service agency has acted in good faith, the civil service agency may reasonably impose adverse action that would ordinarily be restricted to the Administrative Court of the State of Ridgeway.
Review of an Action So Imposed. A decision made by a civil service agency pursuant to subdivision (6)(b) may be appealed as an administrative claim, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.108(a). Where an employee enjoys the right to have a personnel action reviewed before the Administrative Court, though the action is administered under subdivision (6)(b), the employee may invoke the right to an administrative hearing to review the action at any time within fourteen (14) days of the personnel action, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.108(b).
No Computation by the System. The electronic filing system computes no deadline. The party asserting that the period has run or has not run shall state the computation, and the court shall resolve any dispute on motion.
Conduct of an Administrative Hearing. An administrative hearing shall be conducted in the following manner, as 3 R. Stat. § 141.102(d) prescribes:
the administrative court judge shall call the administrative hearing to order;
the civil service agency shall state the claims being made against the employee and present the claims in full;
the employee shall be given the opportunity to introduce evidence of their own, and call witnesses as necessary;
the employee may then provide a closing statement; and
the administrative court judge shall then adjourn the hearing.
The hearing is conducted in the proceeding communications of the matter or as the administrative court judge directs.
Evidence in the Administrative Court.
Legal and Policy Conclusions. No witness before the administrative court shall be permitted to offer legal or policy conclusions as part of their testimony, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.105. This subdivision applies to lay and expert witnesses alike and displaces Rid. R. Evid. 704 in the administrative court to the extent of any conflict.
Authentication. All relevant evidence admitted before the administrative court shall be properly authenticated by an appropriate witness, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.106. The self-authentication provisions of Rid. R. Evid. 902 do not dispense with this requirement.
Hearsay. Hearsay evidence shall be admissible where it uses the statements of the accused; no other hearsay evidence shall be admitted, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.107. The exceptions in Rid. R. Evid. 803 and 804 do not apply in the administrative court.
Remedies and Their Limits.
Equitable Remedy; No Damages. The administrative court shall have the power to grant equitable remedy as necessary to ensure the proper enforcement of law, yet shall not award damages in any proceeding, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.010.
Declaratory Relief. The administrative court shall have the power to issue declaratory relief when necessary, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.011.
Separation of an Employee. The administrative court shall not order the termination, separation, discharge, or removal of a civil service employee, unless explicitly commanded to by state statute, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.012.
Disqualification from Civil Service. The administrative court shall not impose disqualification from civil service except where the court has found that an employee has violated a state statute requiring disqualification from civil service, or where an employee has accumulated two (2) or more dishonorable discharges, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.013. Except where otherwise indicated by state statute, no disqualification from civil service shall exceed a period of four (4) months.
No Apologies. 7 R. Stat. § 122.001 applies in the administrative court.
Decision and Record. The administrative court judge shall enter a written decision stating the findings of fact and the conclusions of law on which it rests, the remedy granted or the punitive action granted or rejected, and the date and hour of entry in Coordinated Universal Time. The Clerk of the Superior Court, who serves as the recorder of official court documents within the Administrative Court under 3 R. Stat. § 131.102, shall enter the decision upon the docket.
Appeal.
Court. The Supreme Court of the State of Ridgeway holds original jurisdiction over all appeals arising from the administrative court, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.201.
When Permitted. No procedure arising from the administrative court shall be appealed except where there is a blatant misapplication of state statute, there is a violation of a constitutional right or liberty, or there was an abuse of discretion, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.202. The notice of appeal shall state which ground is asserted and the facts supporting it.
Time. No appeal shall bring a judgment, order, or decree in any administrative procedure before the Supreme Court unless notice of appeal is filed within twenty-eight (28) days of the judgment, order, or decree, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 141.203. The period runs continuously in Coordinated Universal Time from the entry of the judgment, order, or decree.
Procedure on Appeal. The appeal proceeds as the Ridgeway Rules of the Supreme Court provide. The matter is opened in the Supreme Court and shall identify the originating Superior Court case number of the administrative matter.