"The OAH at the Threshold of the New Millennium"

by Cliff J. Vanell, Director Vol. 12 July 1999

There comes a time when every new agency isn't. That is to say, every agency has to pass from being "new", to just "being." Whereas the Office of Administrative Hearings has existed only three and a half years, in just a few months we will be a "twentieth century" agency, something not only of the last century, but of the prior millennium. I feel older just thinking about that.

Since January 2, 1996, 9,254 cases have been scheduled and 7,998 cases concluded. Other statistics of interest can be reviewed on page 2. What I want to share in this edition of the OAH Newsletter is the "feel" of the OAH, much of which can be gleaned from its physical space and furnishing.

An important mandate for the OAH is to provide accessibility to citizens, particularly the unrepresented. The OAH has designed its rules of procedure to make the process easier to understand and for people to effectively participate. In that same vein, the OAH has paid attention to the atmosphere of 1400 West Washington and its hearing rooms in order to minimize the understandable discomfort that many may feel in being involved in the hearing process. Interesting art work, comfortable chairs and adequate space all contribute to an environment conducive to resolution or at least the "safe space" where conflict can be channeled to understanding.

Hearing Rooms
The OAH currently has 9 hearing rooms at 1400 West Washington. There are two styles of hearing rooms chosen depending on the type of hearing or the needs of the parties. See photographs below. The first style consists of a "T" configuration with a large conference table intersecting the table for the administrative law judge. Placing the parties across from one another underscores the idea that the purpose of a hearing is to be heard and to listen. The close proximity to the administrative law judge likewise is designed to prevent the unnecessary distancing between the parties and the person considering their positions.

The second style, an accommodation for complex presentations, consists of a desk for the administrative law judge and two separate tables for the parties. Despite the separation of the parties, the tables are turned toward one another in a 'V" shape toward the administrative law judge to maintain a connection between all of the participants, rather than the traditional adversarial formation. The effect is actually that of a triangular conference table, although with adequate space to negotiate exhibits and witnesses.

Art Work
Many people take the time to stop by and compliment the OAH on the prints that grace its walls. Most of them harken back to classical times and this is by design. Anything that will call us all back to a sense of balance, proportion and connection is vital to a process that is continuously challenged to be fair, impartial, and complete across the spectrum of human conflict: from career opportunities as they may be impacted through professional licensing and discipline; to the quality of our homes as determined by acceptable workmanship standards; from environmental quality as that impacts a business to the parameters of health care. There is perhaps nothing like contemplating a beautiful fresco of the goddess of Spring from Pompeii, destroyed in a disastrous volcanic eruption in AD 79, to take the edge out of what can, in comparison, be our somewhat trifling definitions of a "bad day." Depictions of the glories of classical Greece and Rome, that spawned our notions of democracy and due process, can often be the best antidote to routine. Perhaps it is as simple as the fact that we all respond to beauty in a positive way whether that be at home or in our workplace. Regardless, the OAH will strive to create the place where the representatives of a regulatory agency and private citizen alike can feel respected as they work out the disputes and settlements that each in its turn weaves together our common quality of life.