Observations Administrative Hearings are overseen by the Assistant Manager of Administrative Adjudication (Administrative Hearings-Operations, 2016). This particular division manages three hearing facilities. During the span of two days, observations of Adjudication Hearings at the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings were made. The Central Hearing Facility addresses cases of vehicle impoundments. Both hearings attended were at the Central Hearing Facility located at 400 West Superior Street. The City of Chicago v. Celest Allen was the most interesting case observed during the two days of observation. The City of Chicago v. Celest was called on by Administrative Law Judge Brian Porter. Judge Porter began explaining to the …show more content…
He proceeded to differentiate civil courts from criminal courts. The first difference he noted between the two types of courts relates to the evidence. Judge Porter defined the terms of preponderance of the evidence and unreasonable. Preponderance of the evidence is used in civil courts and it takes into account the evidence presented and the testimonies given by both respondent and petitioner the judge then determines whether the respondent is liable or not liable. At least 51 percent of certainty is needed to convince the judge whether or not the respondent is liable. Meanwhile, unreasonable doubt there must be complete certainty to the extent the evidence presented and testimonies given are accurate and point to the defendant’s guilt or innocence. A final distinction between criminal and civil courts relates to the outcome of the hearing. The worst case scenario for a respondent found liable in Judge Porter’s room will involve the respondent paying a fine to have their car remove from the pound. On the other hand, in criminal cases if the defendant is found guilty the defendant can end up in …show more content…
The Administrative Law Judge Brian Porter was thorough in explaining the proceedings of an administrative hearing such as in the case of City of Chicago v. Celest Allen. Listening through a thorough explanation of administrative hearings gave me the opportunity to understand how administrative procedures are structure. The lengthy explanation provided on administrative hearings added for the case to take an hour to get through. In the second set of observations, Administrative Judge Charles Fitzgerald pointed out while scheduling other hearings that the City has held over 6,000 hearings up to