Re: AALJ statement on the EO
Dick Goodwin
N E W S R E L E A S E
For immediate release July 12, 2018
Contact: Jamie Horwitz 202/549-4921, jhd...@starpower.net
Statement by
Hon. Marilyn Zahm
President of the Association
of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ)
on
White House Executive Order on Administrative Law Judges
President Trump’s executive order this week regarding the hiring and role of federal administrative law judges should concern anyone who has a Social Security Card. This is an assault on due process for the American people who have a right to a neutral arbiter. Currently, 1,600 of the roughly 2,000 federal ALJs hear Social Security disability cases. The president’s order calls for replacing the current merit system used to hire judges with a court-packing plan that will allow agency heads to hand pick judges who hear cases at the Social Security Administration and dozens of other federal agencies. This change will politicize our courts, lead to cronyism and replace independent and impartial adjudicators with those who do the bidding of political appointees. This is a decision that should be reversed. If allowed to go forward it would be the equivalent of placing a thumb on the scale of justice.
The Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ) was founded as a professional association in 1971 to promote knowledge and collegiality among judges and to protect the due process hearing for the American people. Today the organization represents the approximately 1,400 judges who handle Social Security Disability claims. AALJ bargains on behalf of its members with the Social Security Administration. AALJ is an affiliate of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) and the AFL-CIO.