Administrative Law Test Questions with Verified Answers
1. administrative law: body of law that governs the activities of administrative
agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, ad-
judication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is
considered a branch of public law
2. system theory: provides simple and revealing framework of the relation between
participants; accepts one basic truth- first instinct is to survive; does not measure
influence of any single input
3. Independent Regulatory Commissions: entities such as the FCC(Federal
Communications Commission) and FAA(Federal Avaition Administration). Within the
authority granted them by Congress, they have the power to form and enforce their
own regulations. Supposedly unbiased
4. executive departments: a federal department in the executive branch of the
government of the United States (ag, commerce, labor, defense, energy, H&HS,
justice, treasury, state, interior, housing and urban development, transportation,
education, homeland security, veterans affairs)
5. due process: legal requirement that the state must respect all of the legal rights
that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and
protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without
following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a due-process violation, which
offends against the rule of law
6. common law: also known as case law or precedent, is law developed by judges
through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, as opposed to statutes adopted
through the legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch
7. precedent: a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either
binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent
cases with similar issues or facts; Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges
are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions
8. Administrative Procedure Act (1946): United States federal law that governs
the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United
States may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for
the United States federal courts to directly review agency decisions. It is one of the
most important pieces of United States administrative law
9. Munn v. Illinois (1876): United States Supreme Court case dealing with cor-
porate rates and agriculture. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain
businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as
a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation. Munn was one of six
cases, the so-called Granger cases; At issue was whether the act of the Illinois
Legislature, 25 April 1871, to regulate public warehouses and the inspection and
handling of grain, was constitutional; BAPI Doctrine
1/5
, Administrative Law Test Questions with Verified Answers
10. BAPI Doctrine: Economic activity that has an impact on the community at large.
As discussed in Munn v. Illinois (1877), when private economic activity has such a
public consequence, it may be regulated by the government
11. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964): was a landmark United States Supreme
Court case holding that the U.S. Congress could use the Constitution's Commerce
Clause power to force private businesses to abide by the Civil Rights Act of 1964
12. Chevron, USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984): a case in which
the United States Supreme Court set forth the legal test for determining whether
to grant deference to a government agency's interpretation of a statute which it
administers. Chevron is the Court's clearest articulation of the doctrine of "admin-
istrative deference," to the point that the Court itself has used the phrase "Chevron
deference" in more recent cases
13. nondelegation doctrine: theory that one branch of government must not au-
thorize another entity to exercise the power or function which it is constitutionally
authorized to exercise itself
14. Hampton & Co. v. U.S. (1928): the Court held that Congress, within "defined
limits," could vest discretion in Executive officers to make public regulations and
direct the details of statutory execution. The Court argued that the same principle
that allowed Congress to fix rates in interstate commerce also enabled it to remit to
a rate-making body under the control of the Executive branch
15. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. (1935): invalidated regulations of the poultry
industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use of Congress's
power under the commerce clause. This was a unanimous decision that rendered
the National Industrial Recovery Act, a main component of President Roosevelt's
New Deal, unconstitutional.
16. Whitman v. American Trucking Association (2001): In an opinion delivered by
Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court held that the CAA properly delegated legislative
power to the EPA, but that the EPA could not consider implementation costs in setting
primary and secondary NAAQS. Moreover, the Court held that the Court of Appeals
has jurisdiction to review the EPA's interpretation of Part D
17. Regulation: The use of governmental authority to control or change some
practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and
institutions.
18. spillover costs: "negative externality," is a term used to describe some loss
or damage that a market transaction causes a third party. The third party ends up
paying for the transaction in some way, even though it was neither the buyer nor the
seller and had no part in the original decision
19. red tape: complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to
get something done
2/5
1. administrative law: body of law that governs the activities of administrative
agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, ad-
judication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is
considered a branch of public law
2. system theory: provides simple and revealing framework of the relation between
participants; accepts one basic truth- first instinct is to survive; does not measure
influence of any single input
3. Independent Regulatory Commissions: entities such as the FCC(Federal
Communications Commission) and FAA(Federal Avaition Administration). Within the
authority granted them by Congress, they have the power to form and enforce their
own regulations. Supposedly unbiased
4. executive departments: a federal department in the executive branch of the
government of the United States (ag, commerce, labor, defense, energy, H&HS,
justice, treasury, state, interior, housing and urban development, transportation,
education, homeland security, veterans affairs)
5. due process: legal requirement that the state must respect all of the legal rights
that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and
protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without
following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a due-process violation, which
offends against the rule of law
6. common law: also known as case law or precedent, is law developed by judges
through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, as opposed to statutes adopted
through the legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch
7. precedent: a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either
binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent
cases with similar issues or facts; Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges
are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions
8. Administrative Procedure Act (1946): United States federal law that governs
the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United
States may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for
the United States federal courts to directly review agency decisions. It is one of the
most important pieces of United States administrative law
9. Munn v. Illinois (1876): United States Supreme Court case dealing with cor-
porate rates and agriculture. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain
businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as
a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation. Munn was one of six
cases, the so-called Granger cases; At issue was whether the act of the Illinois
Legislature, 25 April 1871, to regulate public warehouses and the inspection and
handling of grain, was constitutional; BAPI Doctrine
1/5
, Administrative Law Test Questions with Verified Answers
10. BAPI Doctrine: Economic activity that has an impact on the community at large.
As discussed in Munn v. Illinois (1877), when private economic activity has such a
public consequence, it may be regulated by the government
11. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964): was a landmark United States Supreme
Court case holding that the U.S. Congress could use the Constitution's Commerce
Clause power to force private businesses to abide by the Civil Rights Act of 1964
12. Chevron, USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984): a case in which
the United States Supreme Court set forth the legal test for determining whether
to grant deference to a government agency's interpretation of a statute which it
administers. Chevron is the Court's clearest articulation of the doctrine of "admin-
istrative deference," to the point that the Court itself has used the phrase "Chevron
deference" in more recent cases
13. nondelegation doctrine: theory that one branch of government must not au-
thorize another entity to exercise the power or function which it is constitutionally
authorized to exercise itself
14. Hampton & Co. v. U.S. (1928): the Court held that Congress, within "defined
limits," could vest discretion in Executive officers to make public regulations and
direct the details of statutory execution. The Court argued that the same principle
that allowed Congress to fix rates in interstate commerce also enabled it to remit to
a rate-making body under the control of the Executive branch
15. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. (1935): invalidated regulations of the poultry
industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use of Congress's
power under the commerce clause. This was a unanimous decision that rendered
the National Industrial Recovery Act, a main component of President Roosevelt's
New Deal, unconstitutional.
16. Whitman v. American Trucking Association (2001): In an opinion delivered by
Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court held that the CAA properly delegated legislative
power to the EPA, but that the EPA could not consider implementation costs in setting
primary and secondary NAAQS. Moreover, the Court held that the Court of Appeals
has jurisdiction to review the EPA's interpretation of Part D
17. Regulation: The use of governmental authority to control or change some
practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and
institutions.
18. spillover costs: "negative externality," is a term used to describe some loss
or damage that a market transaction causes a third party. The third party ends up
paying for the transaction in some way, even though it was neither the buyer nor the
seller and had no part in the original decision
19. red tape: complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to
get something done
2/5
