New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings

Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings

Court overview
Formed	July 25, 1979 (1979-07-25)
Jurisdiction	New York City
Headquarters	100 Church St., New York, NY 10007
Court executive	Fidel F. Del Valle, chief administrative law judge
Key document	New York City Charter
Website	nyc.gov/oath

The New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is an administrative court of the New York City government. It is a non-mayoral executive agency and is not part of the state Unified Court System.

Structure and jurisdiction

OATH is composed of the:

• Trials Division (OATH Tribunal)
• Health Hearings Division (Health Tribunal)
• Environmental Control Board Hearings Division (Environmental Control Board, ECB)
• Taxi and Vehicle for Hire Hearings Division (Taxi and Limousine Tribunal)
• Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA)

OATH adjudicates for all city agencies unless otherwise provided for by executive order, rule, law or pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. However, except as to issues involving employee discipline, OATH hearings are the exception rather than the rule. In 2003, New York City had roughly 61 city agencies employing an estimated 500 lawyers as administrative law judges and/or hearing officers/examiners. Non-OATH tribunals that also operate in New York City include:

• The city DOF Parking Adjudications Division (Parking Violations Bureau) adjudicates parking violations.
• The state DMV Traffic Violations Bureau adjudicates non-parking traffic violations.
• The city DCA Adjudication Division (DCA Tribunal) adjudicates disputes between businesses and the DCA or consumers, as well as some licensing cases that originate with the Business Integrity Commission, the NYPD, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the FDNY.
• The city Tax Appeals Tribunal adjudicates disputes regarding city-administered taxes other than real estate assessment claims, which are adjudicated by the city Tax Commission.

Procedure

Unlike state criminal courts (such as the New York City Criminal Court), OATH does not guarantee a right to counsel, a fine is the most serious outcome, and a failure to appear results in a default judgment not an arrest warrant.

History

OATH was created by Mayor Ed Koch with Executive Order 32 on July 25, 1979, and by an amendment to the New York City Charter at the general election on November 8, 1988. The Board of Standards and Appeals was consolidated with OATH by an amendment to the charter effective July 1, 1991. Fidel Del Valle was appointed as commissioner and chief judge of OATH by mayor de Blasio in 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings in the Rules of the City of New York
• Board of Standards and Appeals in the Rules of the City of New York
• CityAdmin, a collection of NYC administrative decisions from the Center for New York City Law