This July marks the thirtieth year since the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) was established by Executive Order No. 32 in 1979. Serving as the center of the administrative hearing system for New York City government, the agency has grown tremendously thanks to the hard work and dedication of its employees. While the faces at OATH have changed over the years, the office retains it's commitment to the integrity of the judicial decision-making process.

OATH began in 1979 as a small office created by then-Mayor Ed Koch to address procedural defects in disciplinary hearings held for civil service employees. The Mayor appointed the first Chief Administrative Law Judge, Richard C. Failla, who appointed four more judges, including current Deputy Chief Charles McFaul. The initial case load at OATH consisted of disciplinary and disability hearings for City workers, but soon grew to include license revocation hearings brought by the Taxi & Limousine Commission and the Department of Buildings.

From its inception, OATH has sought to provide an administrative adjudication process committed to professionalism and fairness. Executive Order 32 holds all OATH judges to the New York State Code of Judicial Conduct, distinguishing them from other City administrative judges. Judge McFaul recalls that Chief Judge Failla exemplified these standards in the way he led the office, maintaining "great integrity" and "very high standards" in the hearings held at OATH. Although agencies with their own internal hearing officers were not required to designate OATH in disciplinary proceedings, the value of an independent fact-finder, not subordinate to the agency head, soon led to the expansion of OATH's case load. By 1981 the Department of Corrections began referring cases to OATH, closely followed by the Fire Department and in 1988, by the Police Department.

Within 10 years of its founding, OATH became a charter agency under the 1988 City Charter revisions that also enacted the City Administrative Procedure Act. Charter section 1048 designated OATH as the presumptive tribunal to "conduct adjudicatory hearings for all agencies of the city, unless otherwise provided for by executive order, rule, law or collective bargaining agreements." NYC Charter § 1048. As part of the Charter, OATH could no longer be dissolved by Executive Order, having earned its place as a vital part of City government.

In its second decade, OATH saw a number of developments in its mission for efficient and fair hearings. The Agency expanded with the hiring of new judges in addition to replacing those who retired or left, including Judges John Spooner and Faye Lewis, both of whom are still at OATH. The Office also moved into a new space, from its former location on Vesey Street to its current home at 40 Rector. The new space was designed to reflect the professionalism of the judges and the commitment to due process, with hearing rooms that convey the formality of a trial.

OATH also sought out new technologies to increase its efficiency and transparency. With the need to make its decisions accessible to future litigants, OATH led the way for other agencies in its partnership with the Center for New York City Law. Founded by Professor Ross Sandler of New York Law School in 1993, the Center and OATH benefited one another by making all of OATH's decisions from 1990 onwards available for legal research on the CITYLAW website. Today, documents from various branches of City government are also available on the site.

As word spread of the advantages of having hearings at OATH, more agencies designated OATH to hold their hearings. In 1995, the Department of Sanitation became the last uniformed agency (with the exception of the Police Department) to shut down its internal hearing office and refer all of its disciplinary cases to OATH. In addition, other agencies began to designate OATH for hearings other than disciplinary proceedings. In 1996, the Department of Health designated OATH to conduct enforcement hearings regarding food vendors and dangerous dogs. In 1997, the Commission on Human Rights eliminated its hearing unit and granted OATH jurisdiction to hear all human rights complaints under the New York City Human Rights Laws. In 1999, the Chief Judge of OATH was named administrator and chair of a reconstituted Contract Dispute Resolution Board (CDRB), adjudicating claims brought by City contractors on the terms of the agreement.

In the last decade, the caseload at OATH has continued to grow. Roberto Velez, who was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg in January 2002 as OATH's Chief Administrative Law Judge, has led the agency through a period of its most dramatic expansion, so that it now stands as one of the nation's largest central tribunals at the municipal level of government. In 2001, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development designated OATH to conduct its Single Room Occupancy harassment hearings. In 2004, as a result of court rulings including the Second Circuit's decision in Krimstock v. Kelly, OATH acquired jurisdiction over "probable validity" hearings regarding the seizure of vehicles of arrested drivers by the NYPD. According to the Federal Krimstock order, the vehicle's owner is entitled to a prompt hearing to determine whether or not the City's temporary retention of such a vehicle before a formal finding of forfeiture is lawful and necessary. In 2006, the City Council enacted amendments to the Lobbying Law and designated OATH to conduct all hearings involving violations of the Lobbying Law. In 2008, the City Clerk adopted rules designating OATH to hear appeals from decisions denying marriage licenses or domestic partnerships.

Recent years have also seen OATH expand into new areas to promote its values of professionalism and fairness. In 2003, OATH created the Center for Mediation Services (the Center), which utilizes mediation as a means to resolve workplace conflicts by providing a forum in which grievances can be heard. Under the supervision of Judge Ray Kramer, the Center addresses workplace complaints before conflicts become heated, and thereby reduces the need for costly litigation. The Center also provides onsite consultation services to city agencies that are in need of conflict management initiatives.

OATH has also begun to serve as a model to other City tribunals with its Administrative Judicial Training Institute (AJI). Founded in 2005, the Institute aims to improve the overall quality and professionalism of administrative justice in the City and enhance public access to administrative tribunals. Also under the guidance of Judge Kramer, the Institute is a way for OATH to share its experience at improving the efficiency and responsiveness of tribunals. The institute welcomes all City ALJs and hearing officers, and provides free training to keep them up to date on emerging legal trends.

In both the largest and the most recent expansion of the agency, on August 12, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation bringing the Environmental Control Board (ECB) under the jurisdiction of OATH. ECB handles violations involving public health and safety issued by twelve different City agencies, resulting in more than 160,000 hearings and decisions. Under OATH's management, ECB will benefit from OATH's institutional experience in tribunal administration and ensure that proceedings are conducted in an effective and judicious manner. "In the past year, it has been a great challenge and reward to apply the principles of professionalism, fairness and transparency that have worked so well at OATH to ECB, a tribunal that hears scores of cases that impact the basic health and safety of each of the city's citizens," says Judge Velez. "It's a place where many people appear unrepresented by counsel, and we want to ensure the process is as efficient and easy to understand as possible."

As OATH turns 30, this history of accomplishment and growth calls for reflection. Employees both new and old agree that the dedication of the legal and administrative staff has created a professional, collegiate atmosphere where everyone can learn from one another. Senior Law Clark Martin Rainbow, this summer for 25 years of service, recalled that even when he started there was an "open door" policy, where the judges were just as likely to as his opinion on decision as request research. The commitment to fairness and efficiency of all its employees, past and present, has contributed to OATH's successful history and will no doubt lead to a bright future. "My door is always open," says Judge Velez.

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*Anthony Mohen worked at OATH this summer and is a third-year student at New York University School of Law.