Nash v. Califano
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
613 F.2d 10 (1980)
- Written by Robert Cane, JD
Facts
The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Bureau of Hearings and Appeals faced a record backlog of cases. The Director of the SSA enacted several reforms intended to reduce this backlog. First, the SSA provided mandatory instructions to administrative-law judges (ALJs) regarding the length of hearings and opinions, the amount of evidence required, and the use of expert witnesses. Second, the SSA set a quota that specified the number of decisions an ALJ was to render each month or face incompetence charges. Third, the SSA attempted to influence the ALJs to maintain a reversal rate of 50 percent for decisions denying social-security benefits. Simon Nash (plaintiff), an ALJ for the SSA, challenged these reforms as violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in the United States District Court. Nash’s complaint was dismissed for lack of standing. Nash appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kaufman, C.J.)
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