Editorial: Possible Congressional Fix For ALJ System

While the system of administrative law judges to administer justice in the United States seems on the whole to be working well, it still stinks within the Coast Guard.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat and chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for oversight of the Coast Guard, told the Baltimore Sun that he is finalizing legislation to dismantle the Coast Guard’s administrative law system. Instead, marine cases would go to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which handles similar cases regarding aircraft pilots. The Sun reported on November 10 that Cummings “plans to introduce the measure as part of the annual Coast Guard reauthorization bill, which the House of Representatives could pass by the end of the year.”

This “smelly” issue—smelly actually being a word used by U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan to describe it—has as its foundation evidence presented previously to show that Coast Guard Chief Judge Joseph N. Ingolia was purported to tell other judges how to rule. (See WJ Editorial September 17). During the presentation of that evidence, Judge Berrigan said it “raised a big pile of smelly stuff that doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Despite having said that, Judge Berrigan, on November 8, dismissed the cases of three mariners who had challenged the system and had sued the Coast Guard. “The mariners must exhaust their appeals within the Coast Guard system before suing in federal court over allegations that they were treated unfairly,” she said.

In response to the ruling, the Gulf Coast Mariners Association commented in GMCA News, “Unless appealed, this unfortunate ruling traps mariners within the existing Coast Guard Administrative Law System that unfairly deprived a number of mariners of their licenses for years on end.”

Surprisingly—perhaps not so surprisingly, considering how the Coast Guard operates—the Sun obtained a memorandum in the Coast Guard’s ALJ office that said that “during an October 24 conference call with agency judges…Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant, has assured them that their office will not be dismantled, despite the efforts of Congress.” The Coast Guard refused comment to the Sun.

Evidently informed of the Admiral’s comments, Cummings told the Sun, “I’m more adamant about this now than ever, and I would hope the Coast Guard would work with us to make it happen.”

One has to wonder where the Coast Guard commandant comes off expressing defiance of potential congressional action. Or is he just sure of himself that nothing will come of this multitude of complaints that continue to plague the courts? Some mariners have been fighting their cases for more than a decade.

One wonders at what point does the ego of the Coast Guard hierarchy give way to duty to country. The agency has performed admirably in many instances, but when it comes to dealing with the brown-water industry, the CG has frequently stymied operations, making survival in a high-cost, competitive industry more difficult. Trained professionals have lost their livelihoods, while the industry depending upon them has been deprived of their service.

We have to applaud the Baltimore Sun for sticking to its guns on this story and making clear its position that the ALJ system within the Coast Guard is eroded. More to the point, the Sun reports that the Government Accountability Office GAO has confirmed that it is looking into the matter. It was also confirmed to the Sun by two sources that investigators from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General have requested a host of Coast Guard records as part of a wide-ranging review of how the agency investigates and prosecutes cases.

Amen to that!

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