George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Research Roundtable: Due Process Deficits in Regulatory Enforcement and Adjudication


Event Details

  • Date:
  • Venue: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
  • Division: The Henry G. Manne Program in Law & Economics Studies

Pacific Legal Foundation’s Center for the Separation of Powers, The Center for Growth and Opportunity, and George Mason University’s Law & Economics Center sought papers for a research roundtable on due process deficits in regulatory agencies’ enforcement and adjudication practices which was held in October 2022 at the Scalia Law School. A constellation of distinct but interrelated due process deficits has arisen as the regulatory state has grown larger and gradually supplanted courts’ traditional role in resolving disputes. Among the most important of these deficits are lack of notice to affected persons, delay or denial of access to court, lack of impartial adjudicators, agency failure to respond promptly to allegations of wrongdoing, disproportionate and unfair penalties, and lack of democratic accountability. Many regulatory agencies employ practices that skirt the most basic due process protections. These deficits not only have adverse legal effects and raise serious Rule of Law concerns, they also often bring significant economic concerns from lack of predictability, inefficiencies associated with underinformed regulators, and inadequately reasoned or arbitrarily identified compliance costs.