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Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 3.4.1 Overview

The Supreme Court has identified “two main purposes” underlying exhaustion of administrative remedies. First, “exhaustion protects ‘administrative agency authority,’” by giving the agency “‘an opportunity to correct its own mistakes’” before it is “‘haled into federal court’” and further discouraging “‘disregard of [the agency’s] procedures.’” Second, “exhaustion promotes efficiency,” according to the Court.1124

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.6 Administrative Advocacy

Administrative advocacy can take a variety of forms in connection with agency adjudication, rule-making and investigation.26 Numerous federal and state benefit programs have procedures for the administrative appeal of adverse decisions. The advocate should evaluate whether these procedures comport with principles of due process and determine whether the administrative appeal is a mandatory or permissive prerequisite to judicial review.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 3.1.8 Procedural Injury

The Supreme Court has addressed an additional form of injury—other than economic, recreational, and aesthetic injury—of potential value to legal aid attorneys. In Defenders of Wildlife, plaintiffs sought standing on the ground that the statute in question created a procedural right in the form of interagency consultation that was allegedly violated.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 5.1.3 Did Congress intend the law to so directly benefit the plaintiff, such that those in his or her place are the “unmistakable focus” of the statute?

The seesaw battle between shifting Supreme Court majorities over what constitutes an enforceable right led to a greater focus on the relationship between the aim of the statute and its effect on the plaintiff. As formulated by Wilder, even if a statute imposes binding obligations on the state which are capable of judicial enforcement, Section 1983 cannot be invoked unless Congress intended the law to directly benefit the plaintiff. However, this only begins the inquiry.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 3.4.0 Exhaustion of Judicial or Administrative Remedies

Section 3.4 updated 2017 by Jeffrey S. Gutman, 2023 by Carmela Huang

This Section discusses the circumstances under which a prospective federal court plaintiff may be required to exhaust judicial or administrative remedies before filing an action in federal court, and the preclusion implications of having such remedies available or pursuing such remedies when they are not statutorily mandated.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 3.4.5 Preclusion

If exhaustion of judicial or administrative remedies is not required, the advocate has to assess whether to pursue such remedies voluntarily or to proceed with federal litigation. The reality of limited resources often strongly influences this decision. The cost of federal court discovery, hiring expert witnesses, and preparing the case for potential trial poses difficulties for legal services organizations.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 3.3.5 Mootness and Class Actions

Class actions1091 raise the question whether the claims of the class are moot when the claims of the individual class representatives become moot. Once certified as a class action, the case is less likely to become moot despite the named plaintiffs’ claims becoming moot, if the challenged conduct continues to threaten absent class members. The same may hold true if the named plaintiffs’ claims become moot before class certification, especially if the claims of the class are of short duration.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 6.9.1 Appellate Practice Introduces Issues Both Similar and Different Than Before District Courts

Section 6.9 updated 2013 by Gill Deford, 2015 by Jeffrey S. Gutman, 2022 by Sasha Samberg-Champion

Appellate practice raises some questions similar to those presented in the district court, but it also introduces new issues and procedures. Note that it involves consideration both of whether the lower court’s order was appealable and substantive argument on the merits.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 7.2.2 Numerosity

The numerosity requirement of Rule 23 does not focus exclusively on the number of members of the putative class, but, instead, on the impracticability of individual joinder.3379 The courts apply no strict numerical test for determining impracticality of joinder, although they have established general benchmarks that have “utilized some numerical guideposts to inform the 23)a)(1) inquiry,”3380 typically finding that classes of less than 20 are insufficiently numerous and classes of 40 or more

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 4.0 Introduction

This Chapter discusses several basic issues relating to the drafting and filing of a federal court complaint, including the mechanics and strategy of drafting a complaint, as well as selection of parties, alleging facts and framing the request for relief. Sanctions should not be an issue for well-researched and factually-substantiated complaints. Nonetheless, the legal aid attorney should be familiar with the ethical dimensions and standards of filing a complaint in federal court.