Opinion ID: 2267996
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: The Administrative Procedure Act governs our review of decisions of the Grievance Office, an entity within the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Maryland Code, § 10-222 of the State Government Article (1984, 1999 Repl.Vol.); Maryland Code, § 10-202 of the Correctional Services Article (1999). Because an appellate court reviews the agency decision under the same statutory standards as the circuit court, we reevaluate the decision of the agency, not the lower court. Gigeous v. Eastern Correctional Inst., 363 Md. 481, 495-96, 769 A.2d 912, 921 (2001) (citing Public Serv. Comm'n v. Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co., 273 Md. 357, 362, 329 A.2d 691, 694-95 (1974)). Generally, judicial review of administrative agency action is narrow. Id. at 496, 769 A.2d at 921 (quoting United Parcel Service Inc. v. People's Counsel for Baltimore County, 336 Md. 569, 576-77, 650 A.2d 226 (1994)). The reviewing court must not substitute its judgment for the expertise for those persons who constitute the administrative agency. Id. at 496, 769 A.2d at 921 (quoting Bulluck v. Pelham Wood Apts., 283 Md. 505, 513, 390 A.2d 1119, 1124 (1978)). We must respect the expertise of the agency and accord deference to its interpretation of a statute that it administers. See Board of Physician v. Banks, 354 Md. 59, 68-69, 729 A.2d 376, 381 (1999); however, we may always determine whether the administrative agency made an error of law. Baltimore Lutheran High School v. Employment Sec. Admin., 302 Md. 649, 662, 490 A.2d 701, 708 (1985). Typically, such a determination requires considering (1) the legality of the decision and (2) whether there was substantial evidence from the record as a whole to support the decision. Id. at 662, 490 A.2d at 708. Moreover, in cases that involve determining whether a constitutional right has been infringed, we make an independent constitutional appraisal. See Crosby v. State, 366 Md. 518, 526, 784 A.2d 1102, 1106 (2001) (citing Stokes v. State, 362 Md. 407, 414, 765 A.2d 612, 615 (2001); In re Tariq A-R-Y, 347 Md. 484, 489, 701 A.2d 691, 693 (1997); Riddick v. State, 319 Md. 180, 183, 571 A.2d 1239, 1240 (1990)).