"[B]oth commentators and courts have often attached the prefix 'quasi' to descriptions of an agency’s rulemaking or adjudicative functions. . . . The terms 'quasi legislative' and 'quasi adjudicative' indicate that the agency uses legislative like or court like procedures but that it is not, constitutionally speaking, either a legislature or a court."
Quasi-judicial
Definition
1) A proceeding conducted by an administrative or executive official that is similar to a court proceeding, e.g. a hearing. A court may review a decision arising from a quasi-judicial proceeding.
2) A judicial act performed by an official who is either not a judge or not acting in his or her capacity as a judge.
Illustrative caselaw
See, e.g. Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241 (2004) and Humphrey's Ex'r v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935).
See also
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
1) A description of decisions or actions of an administrative or executive government agency that are similar to a court proceeding. For example, the National Labor Relations Board is a quasi-judicial body that decides labor dispute cases based on the written record of evidence heard and decisions reached by administrative law judges. 2) Sometimes used more generally to refer to adjudicative procedures that occur outside of courts. For example, arbitration is often referred to as a quasi-judicial proceeding.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm
