1449
South Building
Washington, D. C. 20250-9204
Phone: 202-720-4764
Fax: 202-205-2959
The Office of the
Judicial Officer was
established pursuant
to the Act of April
4, 1940 (7 U.S.C.
§§ 450c-450g);
section 4(a) of Reorganization
Plan No. 2 of 1953,
18 Fed. Reg. 3219,
3221 (1953), reprinted
in 5 U.S.C. app.
§ 4(a) at 1491
(1994); and section
212(a)(1) of the Department
of Agriculture Reorganization
Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.
§ 6912(a)(1)).
The Judicial Officer
is delegated authority
by the Secretary of
Agriculture to act
as final deciding
officer in United
States Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
adjudicatory proceedings
subject to 5 U.S.C.
§§ 556 and
557 and other proceedings
listed in 7 C.F.R.
§ 2.35.
The Judicial Officer's
decisions are not
reviewable within
USDA, but any litigant
in a proceeding, other
than USDA, may seek
judicial review of
the Judicial Officer's
decision. The Judicial
Officer's decisions
and rulings are published
in Agriculture
Decisions and
are available on West
Publishing Company's
computer-assisted
legal research service,
WESTLAW, under the
database USDA.
The mission of the
Office of the Judicial
Officer is to review
carefully the record
in each proceeding
and to issue expeditiously
a fair, clear, well-reasoned
final USDA decision,
which is consistent
with law and USDA
policy.
The Office of the
Judicial Officer is
comprised of three
persons: the Judicial
Officer, the Assistant
to the Judicial Officer,
and a Legal Technician.
The Office of the
Judicial Officer operates
on a budget of approximately
$325,000.