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- Logo
- Mission Statement
- Director
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Administrative Law Judges
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- WHAT IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE (ALJ)?
- WHAT IS A HEARING LIKE?
- DO I NEED A LAWYER?
- HOW DO I KNOW WHAT RULES TO FOLLOW?
- WHERE AND WHEN WILL THE HEARING BE?
- WILL THERE BE A RECORD?
- WHERE DO I SEND REQUESTS?
- WHAT IF I NEED A DELAY?
- PRE-HEARING MOTIONS?
- HOW DO I SUBPOENA WITNESSES?
- SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS?
- FORMS?
- WHAT IF I HAVE A COMPLAINT?
- APPEALS?
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- The administrative law judge is an employee of the Office of
Administrative Hearings and not an employee of the agency who makes the
final decision. Normally, it will be the regulating agency, and not the
ALJ, who will make the final decision in your case. The ALJ will decide
facts, apply law, and make recommendations to the regulating agency.
There are exceptions where the ALJ makes the final decision. In most
cases, if the agency does not act within 30 days of receiving the
recommendation of the ALJ, the ALJ's recommendation will become final.
In some cases, the board or commission may only have 5 days to take
action after a meeting. The ALJ of the Office of Administrative
Hearings is charged with making sure that you have had a fair,
impartial, and independent opportunity to be heard before an agency
acts. The function of the ALJ can best be summed up by our Mission
Statement:
- "We will contribute to the quality of life of the State of Arizona
by fairly and impartially hearing the contested matters of our fellow
citizens arising out of State regulation."
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- An administrative hearing is like a trial, but less formal. Evidence is
presented by each side, either as sworn testimony or as documents.
Before the hearing each side may make an opening statement to tell the
administrative law judge what the believes the evidence will show. At
the end of the hearing, each side may present a closing argument to
explain why the ALJ should rule one way or the other. After the
hearing, the ALJ will review all the evidence and issue a decision
which will be submitted to the agency which brought the action, or
whose action is being appealed from.
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- No one is required by the Office of Administrative Hearings to have a
lawyer. Individuals may, of course, represent themselves. However, when
a party wishes to be represented by another, the Supreme Court
restricts that representation to licensed attorneys, with exceptions.
(see generally Rule 31, Rules of the Supreme Court )
- Corporations or other legal entities are not individuals and therefore
must be represented. The Supreme Court allows these entities to be
represented before the OAH by full-time employees and officers,
subjects to certain requirements. (see Rule 31(c)(11) An example would
be a contracting company in a Registrar of Contractors case who could
chose to be represented by a properly authorized corporate officer or
employee.
- Certain exceptions also exist for agencies whose hearings are conducted
by the OAH. (see for example Rule 31(c)(12), allowing anyone to
represent a party in AHCCCS cases, as long as no fee is charged. )
- The Office of Administrative Hearings may not give legal advice to you,
although it will do everything it can to provide you with a fair and
impartial hearing. It will also help you understand and follow the
procedures to present your case.
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- You will find a copy of the OAH rules accompanying your brochure. If
you have not received a copy, please contact the Office and a copy will
be sent to you. You can find the rules at our website at www.oah.com.
In addition, statutory provisions found in A.R.S. §41-1092 .01 to
A.R.S. §41-1092.11 are applicable. A.R.S. §12-904 to A.R.S. §12-910
will guide any appeal to Superior Court. These statutes can be found in
your local library. Other statutes may apply in special cases.
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- There will always be a record of any hearings, generally by audio tape.
Either party can hire a court reporter instead. The record will be
available to either side. For more information see OAH Rule 2-19-121.
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- After you receive the "Notice of Hearing" in your case, you
should file requests or motions with the Administrative Law Judge (see
the addresses on the cover of this brochure). However, you must send a
copy of whatever you file to any other party and the agency, even if
the agency is not a party. Likewise, the agency must send you a copy of
what it sends to the Administrative Law Judge or any other party.
Sometimes the agency or you will refer to documents that you intend to
use at the hearing to make your point. In that case, both the agency
and you must make those other documents reasonably available for
inspection by the other party if requested prior to the hearing. Be
sure to list on whatever you file both the names and addresses of everyone
who has been given a copy. For more information see OAH Rule 2-19-108.
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- Sometimes either or both parties may request that a hearing be
rescheduled. The administrative law judge will make a decision as to
whether there is a good reason for the delay. If there is, the hearing
will be rescheduled to the next available date. Your request for a
continuance must be in writing and generally must be received fifteen
days before the scheduled hearing. For more information see OAH Rule
2-19-110.
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- Normally pre-hearing motions will be heard on the day of the hearing.
The Administrative Law Judge will determine in advance whether the
hearing itself will be rescheduled and will inform the parties whether
only the motion will be heard that day. OAH Rule 2-19-106.
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- There are basically two types of subpoena. The first is an order for
someone to appear. The second is an order for someone to make documents
or other items available to you. If you want either of these types of
subpoena, you must prepare a subpoena form for the administrative law
judge's signature. The second type of subpoena requires a justification
as well, normally a letter attached to the subpoena. The subpoena may
not be served by a party. Process servers can be found in the yellow
pages. A copy of the subpoena, along with an affidavit from the person
serving the original subpoena must be returned to the Office of
Administrative Hearings. Subpoena forms, along with a guide on how to
fill them out and have them served, are available through the Office of
Administrative Hearings. Since you are required to have the subpoena
served, you should request subpoenas well in advance of the hearing.
For more information see OAH Rule 2-19-113.
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- The Office of Administrative Hearings endeavors to ensure the
accessibility of its hearings to all persons with disabilities. Should
you, or anyone you call as a witness need special accommodations,
contact the Office of Administrative Hearings at (602) 542-9826 three
working days before the hearing.
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- Forms for motions and subpoena are available by clicking to the forms
location at the website, or by mailing a request, along with a
self-addressed stamped return envelope to the Office of Administrative
Hearings, 1400 West Washington, Suite 101, Phoenix, AZ 85007.
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- In most cases you have the right to appeal the regulating agency's
final order to the Superior Court. Final orders should specify your
appeal rights.
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- Kay A. Abramsohn joined the OAH with its creation on January 1, 1996.
Prior to that, from 1984 to 1986, Kay was one of two persons drafting
and promulgating administrative rules for the Arizona Department of
Revenue. From 1986 to 1992, Kay was the Administrator of the DOR Tax
Policy Section, the area responsible for issuing internal and external
administrative rulings and procedures, drafting and promulgation of
rules, and legislative analysis and recommendation to the DOR Director
and the Legislature. In April 1992, Kay was appointed to serve as Chief
Hearing Officer at DOR, until October 1995, when a new appointment was
named, and Kay remained with DOR as a Hearing Officer until her
appointment to the OAH as an Administrative Law Judge. A member of the
Arizona State Bar, Kay received a Bachelor’s degree in Public
Administration with Law Enforcement emphasis from the University of
Arizona, a Juris Doctor with emphasis in Taxation from Thomas M. Cooley
Law School, and a Masters of Law in Taxation from Golden Gate
University. While she presides over all types of administrative matter
with the OAH jurisdiction, her primary case load remains Taxation.
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- Judge Bryant joined the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings on May
5, 1997. He is a graduate of the University of Utah (BA, English, 1985)
and the University of Arizona College of Law (1988). Since then, he has
served the State of Arizona in several different capacities. In 1988, he
was a law clerk for Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Following that, from 1989 to 1996, he was an Assistant Attorney General
for the State of Arizona in the Criminal Appeals Section, the
Administrative Law Section, and the Licensing Enforcement Section. After
about two years in criminal law, he moved to the Civil Division, handled
a variety of regulatory matters, mostly in the health care area, and
distinguished himself in the administrative law field. In 1996, he moved
to the Arizona Department of Revenue, working as a tax analyst in
Arizona transaction privilege and use tax. Judge Bryant has taught legal
assisting courses, including Administrative Law, at Phoenix College
since 1990. He has been a presenter for Arizona CLE programs and has
also edited Language Arts home school curricula for a small publisher.
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- Lewis D. Kowal is an Administrative Law Judge with the Office of
Administrative Hearings and has served in that capacity since the
agency’s inception in January 1996. Administrative Law Judge Kowal
presides over various matters including but not limited to licensing and
disciplinary matters for state agencies. Judge Kowal received his
undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University
and his Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law. Judge Kowal
was admitted to practice law in Arizona and New York. He has prosecuted
cases for the New York State Insurance Department, worked in personal
injury, commercial, administrative and general practice law firms,
interned in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and clerked at
the Arizona State Attorney General’s Office dealing with administrative
law matters. Judge Kowal completed the Advanced Course of Administrative
Law sponsored by the National Judicial College. He has published several
articles concerning liquor laws in a liquor trade publication and was a
member of an ad-hoc committee for the Arizona Liquor Board which
assisted in the revamping of the Board’s liquor rules. Immediately prior
to becoming a member of the Office of Administrative Hearings, Judge
Kowal was the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Arizona Department
of Insurance.
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- Dorinda M. Lang has been presiding over administrative hearings for
state administrative agencies since 1991. Prior to coming to the Office
of Administrative Hearings in July 1999, she was a Hearing Officer III
at the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Administration Office
of Grievances and Appeals and a Hearing Officer II at the Department of
Economic Security Office of Appeals. Judge Lang received her
undergraduate degree in history from Augustana College in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota and her Jurisdoctorate from the University of South Dakota
School of Law in Vermillion, South Dakota. She was in the private
practice of law from 1987 to 1990, specializing in the general practice
of law, accepting cases in family law, contract, employment and general
litigation. She has also worked as a legal educator, conducting seminars
and junior college classes in health care law, contracts, legal research
and legal writing.
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- Diane Mihalsky joined OAH on August 17, 1998, following seven years in
private practice as a civil litigator in Phoenix with the law firms of
Lewis and Roca, LLP and Renaud, Cook & Drury, PC. Her practice
included the areas of professional liability, construction law,
securities fraud, medical malpractice, personal injury, and
transportation. Judge Mihalsky received a juris doctorate, magna cum
laude, from Arizona State University in 1991, an M.A. in English
literature and composition from Northern Arizona University in 1982, and
a B.A. with High Honors in Government from the University of Texas at
Austin in 1976. She is a member of the Order of the Coif and Phi Beta
Kappa. In addition to practicing law, Judge Mihalsky has been a teacher
of business English and English composition, a staff secretary at the
Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, a construction secretary, and a
waitress.
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- Prior to joining the Office of Administrative Hearings, Judge Morton
served for nine years as a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney. She has served as a member of the Bar
Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2000 and was appointed as chair of
the Law Related Education Committee as of January 2003. Judge Morton also serves her
community as a Maricopa County Regional Coordinator for the Arizona High
School Mock Trial program and serves on the faculty of various Bar
Foundation programs, including INVEST, the LRE Academy and the
International Symposium on Democracy and the Rule of Law. Judge Morton
is licensed to practice law in Arizona, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Upon moving to Arizona nine years ago, she served as a Special Deputy
County Attorney in Pinal County. Prior to moving to Arizona, she served
in the Office of the Burlington County Prosecutor in New Jersey and
clerked for the Honorable Mary D. Colins, Philadelphia Court of Common
Pleas and the Honorable James G. Colins, Commonwealth Court of
Pennsylvania. She received her Juris Doctorate from Widener University
School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism and
Political Science from Syracuse University.
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- Casey J. Newcomb joined the Office of Administrative Hearings as an
Administrative Law Judge on October 13, 1997. Born in Iowa, Judge
Newcomb earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Juris Doctor
from the University of Iowa. As an undergraduate, he spent a semester in
Washington, D.C. as a Legislative Assistant on the United States Senate
Judiciary Committee. In law school, he served as an Articles Editor for
the prestigious "Journal of Corporation Law." Judge Newcomb
also served as a research assistant to the prominent death penalty
author, Professor David C. Baldus. After graduating from law school, he
joined a general litigation law firm in Tucson, Arizona where he
specialized in the areas of civil litigation, real estate, landlord/tenant
and domestic relations law. In 1993, after three years in private
practice, Judge Newcomb joined the Attorney General's Office
specializing in civil litigation and domestic relations law. He is
currently an active member in the Volunteer Lawyer's Program serving as
an Advisor for landlord/tenant workshops. He is currently licensed to
practice law in Arizona and is a member of the Arizona State Bar. Judge
Newcomb is currently an Officer with the Executive Council of the
Administrative Law Section of the Arizona State Bar and serves as a
Judge ProTem for the Maricopa County Superior Court and the Superior
Court's Alternative Dispute Resolution Office. He is an active volunteer
with the Valley Big brothers and Big Sisters program and the Habitat for
Humanity, Valley of the Sun Organization.
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- Judge Reed graduated from Wayne State University and Detroit College of
Law. He currently serves as an Administrative Law Judge with the Office
of Administrative Hearings and presides over a full calendar of cases
referred for hearing by various State agencies. Prior to becoming an
Administrative Law Judge, Judge Reed was a Hearing Officer with the
Arizona Department Of Liquor Licenses and Control and the Motor Vehicle
Division. He has worked for the State of Arizona since 1984. Before
moving to Arizona, Judge Reed practiced law in Michigan.
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- Mark Silver is a graduate of Michigan State University and Wayne State
University Law School. Has worked in the Administrative Law field since
1974. He has been an
Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings
since its inception on January 1, 1996. Prior to that, he was an
Administrative Law Judge with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors from
1985 through 1995. From 1974 to 1985 he was a Hearing Officer with the
Michigan Secretary of State.
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- Brian E. Smith joined the Office
of Administrative Hearings on May 3, 2004. Originally from Chicago,
Administrative Law Judge Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with
distinction in psychology from Northern Arizona University and attended
Arizona State University College of Law. Judge Smith began his legal
career as an associate with the Phoenix firm of O’Connor Cavanagh, et
al. with a concentration in the areas of insurance defense and general
civil litigation. He later joined the firm of Carmichael and Powell
where he focused on commercial transactions and litigation as well as
landlord/tenant law. After ten years as a sole practitioner in the areas
of commercial transactions and litigation and domestic relations law,
Judge Smith served over three years as an Arizona Assistant Attorney
General specializing in child abuse and neglect, adoption subsidy and
developmental disabilities before joining the Office of Administrative
Hearings.
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- Judge Strickland is with the Office of Administrative Hearings, having
previously been assigned for almost eight years as a Hearing Officer
with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. Mr. Strickland
came to Arizona from St. Louis, Missouri where he had been with a
litigation firm for a number of years, specializing in medical
negligence and product liability law. A University of Notre Dame and
Washington University, St. Louis, legally trained adjudicator, Judge
Strickland also owns graduate degrees in history (M.A.) and theology
(M.Div.). Additionally, he completed a Ph.D. course through his
comprehensives at Saint Louis University in Historical Theology, and has
taught at the high school (Latin and Greek), undergraduate (Latin and
various courses in History) and post-graduate levels (Ancient Languages
and Law). The Judge brings a wealth of extracurricular experience,
having served as a hockey and baseball coach at the Varsity and Junior
levels, is the father of seven children, and is a frequently invited
guest speaker on various topics including law, religion and history.
Judge Strickland is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Missouri and
Illinois, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts
of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois.
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- Brian Brendan Tully is an Administrative Law Judge assigned to the
Arizona State Office of Administrative Hearings. He previously had been
assigned to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors as an Administrative
Law Judge. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Judge Tully earned his
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Psychology from
The University of New Mexico and his Juris Doctorate from The University
of Tulsa College of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Arizona,
Oklahoma, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Western
Districts of Oklahoma, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the
U.S. Court for International Trade. Judge Tully has held positions as
Municipal Judge, City Prosecutor, City Attorney, general practitioner,
senior oil and gas landman/attorney and senior arbitrator. His real life
experiences also include having been an assistant director of a
city/county pre-trial release project and a steamfitter. Judge Tully has
taught oil and gas contracts law at the junior college level and real
estate transactions at a private paralegal school, and also worked as a
nursing skills laboratory technician in a university baccalaureate of
nursing science program.
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- Sondra J. Vanella joined the Office of Administrative Hearings as an
Administrative Law Judge on October 12, 1999. Originally from Oyster
Bay, New York, Judge Vanella graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelor
of Arts in English with dual minors in Spanish and Sociology, from the
State University of New York at Albany. She earned her Juris Doctor from
Pepperdine University School of Law. Prior to becoming an Administrative
Law Judge, Judge Vanella served as an Assistant Attorney General. She
also practiced in the private sector in the area of Domestic Relations.
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- Grant Winston joined the Office of Administrative Hearings on October 1,
1996. From 1989 to 1992, he was an assistant attorney general for the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, and from 1992 to 1996, he served as an
administrative law judge. Previous to that, he had been a law clerk for
both the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court, as
well as a Legal Services staff attorney for low income persons in civil
matters. In Kentucky, Judge Winston presided over a wide gamut, and
multitude, of administrative matters. As an example, from 1992 to 1996,
he served in over 120 licensure and/or disciplinary matters for the
Kentucky medical and nursing boards. Additionally, he handled matters in
Social Services and entitlements, Transportation, Education, Insurance,
Occupational Safety and Health, and Real Estate. One of two
administrative law judges in our Tucson office, which serves primarily
the southern portion of Arizona, Judge Winston presides over all types
of administrative matters within OAH jurisdiction. However, due to his
previous varied experience, his case load has an emphasis on statewide
medical and nursing boards. Additionally, he handled matters in Social
Services and entitlements, Transportation, Education, Insurance,
Occupational Safety and Health, and Real Estate. One of two
administrative law judges in our Tucson office, which serves primarily
the southern portion of Arizona, Judge Winston presides over all types
of administrative matters within OAH jurisdiction. However, due to his
previous varied experience, his case load has an emphasis on statewide
medical and nursing matters, Registrar of Contractors, and Revenue.
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- Robert Worth currently serves as an Administrative Law Judge for the
State of Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings, presiding over a
full calendar of matters forwarded by several different State agencies.
Receiving his undergraduate bachelor’s degree from Stanford University
and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Stanford Law School, he
subsequently became a member of the State Bars of California, New York
and Arizona. During his period of military service, he served as an Army
Judge Advocate, primarily engaged in court martial trials. Judge Worth
conducted a general law practice in New York as part of a firm and,
subsequently, as a sole practitioner. After moving to Arizona, and after
a period during which he conducted a general law practice in Scottsdale,
Judge Worth joined the staff of the Registrar of Contractors as a
hearing officer, ultimately holding the position of the Registrar’s
Chief Administrative Law Judge for twelve years.
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- For more information, visit the OAH website:
- www.azoah.com
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Notes
