A difference between judicial and administrative hearings

A difference between judicial and administrative hearings
Source: Administrative Law Professor Blog. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2010, All rights reserved http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adminlaw/

Here is another case from Patty Salkin (Albany) on her Law of the Land blog, "FL Appeals Court holds that Neighboring Landowners in a Quasi Judicial Hearing Are Not Entitled to Cross-Examine Witnesses".

Petitioners, Carillon Community Residential Association, Inc., and its President, sought second-tier certiorari review of a circuit court order upholding the approval by the County Board of County Commissioners [BCC] of an amendment to the Carillon Planned Unit Development which allows a mixed-use development, including a four-story, 600 bed University of Central Florida student housing complex, to be built on two parcels of land adjacent to Petitioners’ subdivision.

The Court concluded that the circuit court afforded Petitioners procedural due process and did not depart from the essential requirements of law when the Board denied their request to cross-examine witnesses at the quasi-judicial hearing in which the amendment was approved.

The Court said that Florida law does not require that all participants in quasi-judicial proceedings be allowed to cross-examine witnesses.

The Court states, that “land use hearings are not in the same form as traditional adversarial hearings during which opposing parties are clearly delineated and those entitled to cross-examine witnesses can be clearly identified.

Rather, land use hearings are public hearings during which any member of the public has a right to participate. At the hearing in question, in addition to the witnesses for the developers and the petitioners, twenty-five community members spoke at the hearing. It would be impractical to grant each interested party the right to cross-examine the witnesses at such a hearing, especially in light of the fact that the BCC provides a procedure by which the witnesses can be questioned.”

An administrative hearing is not a trial - not strictly speaking an adversarial procedure but rather an inquisitorial procedure. Due process does not require that the agency follow the rules of evidence or the procedures mandated by due process in litigation or criminal proceedings. Absent specific statutory requirements, we get notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Edward M. “Ted” McClure
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