Opinion ID: 445428
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Claim of Bias

Text: 22 As we have previously noted, 39 the principles supporting exclusive jurisdiction in the Court of Appeals over claims of unreasonable delay equally support exclusive jurisdiction over an interlocutory claim of bias. Such claims come under the rubric of our general holding in TRAC that this Court has exclusive jurisdiction over suits seeking relief which might affect the Court of Appeals' future statutory power of review. In the present case the crux of the bias claim is a series of statements made by Chairman MacKinnon in May of 1982 concerning the cause of Braniff International Airways' bankruptcy. ALPA also has alleged that by virtue of Chairman MacKinnon's office, he has introduced bias into the minds of the other Board members. 40 23 The usual presumption in favor of withholding judicial review until after final agency action applies with even greater force in the context of a bias claim than it does with a claim of unreasonable delay. Unlike unreasonable delay, bias does not pose the threat of totally defeating the Court of Appeals' power of review. Also, claims of bias do not have a congressional mandate analogous to 5 U.S.C. Sec. 706, instructing courts to compel agency action unreasonably delayed. Therefore, the arguments for deferring review merit increased attention. As this Court has previously explained: 24 The administrative proceedings cannot be stopped to allow for excursions in the courts with prolonged evidentiary hearings; the time for that in a proper case is when an aggrieved litigant seeks judicial review of agency action having preserved the point of claimed disqualification in the administrative hearing .... To stay the administrative processes while a court was engaged in an extended inquiry into the claimed disqualification of members of the administrative body could lead to a breakdown in the administrative process which has long been criticized for its slow pace. 41 25 In the present case a judicial probe into the bias question would only further delay the section 43 proceedings. Therefore, although we recognize our jurisdiction over interlocutory claims of bias, we will take no action on the merits of the bias claim at this time. 26 ALPA also argues that since the Department of Transportation was a party in pending section 43 cases before the Board, and took a position against the employee actions, that therefore the Department of Transportation is also biased. 42 However, the litigating position of some members of the Department of Transportation does not conclusively establish bias. We cannot say that the same people who took a litigating position will be the ones adjudicating these section 43 determinations next year. It is a normal part of agency operations to have some members of an agency litigating cases and other members adjudicating them. Bias in the Department of Transportation thus remains an issue to be brought and argued later, if at all.