Conflict or Constructive Tension - The Changing Relationship of Judges and Administrators

• NCJ Number: 100277
• Journal: Public Administration Review Volume: 45 Dated: special issue (November 1985) Pages: 643-652
• Author(s): P J Cooper
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-100276.

Annotation

This article investigates charges by administrators that Federal courts are continuing a trend toward greater intervention in administrative matters, thereby undermining necessary administrative discretion.

Abstract

First examined are two premises underlying current tensions between judges and administrators: that discretion is essential in modern public administration and that law is intended to, and does, limit discretion. Citing recent legal developments, the paper argues that judges are sensitive to administrative concerns such as costs and have protected sources of administrative discretion. Moreover, the Federal judiciary led by the Supreme Court has in several respects drawn back from intervention in open recognition of the need for managerial flexibility. The article addresses one new area of tension between courts and agencies: the refusal of administrators to act at all or engage in administrative deregulation. It concludes that law reinforces discretion, a fact that should lead to improved judicial-administrative relations. 60 footnotes.