AALJ/IFPTE Judicial Council 1 Calls DOJ's Threats to Eliminate Judges’ Protections from Arbitrary Removal Unlawful

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Chief of Staff, Chad Mizelle, threatened the independence of administrative law judges (ALJs) to render decisions without fear of removal or retaliation. 

The AALJ/IFPTE Judicial Council 1, representing nearly 1,000 federal administrative law judges, says the DOJ’s position is an overreach and not supported by long-established precedent.  AALJ President, Judge Som Ramrup, said, “Administrative law judges carry out the law and should be free from political pressures.  They are not at-will employees. The DOJ can say that removal protections designed to shield ALJs are unconstitutional, but that is not supported by law.” 

Meanwhile, the AALJ also hosted its annual education conference this week which hundreds of AALJ members attended.  See the full AALJ statement here.