I-4-0-30.Special Procedures for Critical Cases
Last Update: 1/13/17 (Transmittal I-4-61)
A. Critical Case Designation
Office of Appellate Operations (OAO) staff is responsible for designating critical cases for expedited processing under Hearings, Appeals, and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual I-3-1-5. OAO's Executive Director's Office and OAO Branch Chiefs (BC) monitor the OAO pending critical case workload. Court Case Preparation and Review Branch (CCPRB) BCs are responsible for ensuring that critical cases assigned to their branches are promptly processed. CCPRB staff is responsible for bringing to the BC's attention any case that may meet the criteria in HALLEX I-3-1-5 A.
See instructions in HALLEX I-3-1-5 B for adding, removing, and monitoring critical case designations.
B. CCPRB Case Processing
1. Assigning the Case
See HALLEX I-3-1-5 C.1.
2. Appeals Council Final Action
a. Fully or Partially Favorable Appeals Council Decision
A certified administrative record (CAR) may be needed when the Appeals Council (AC) issues a partially favorable decision. See generally HALLEX I-4-2-1. When required, the CAR must be prepared before the case is forwarded for effectuation.
The AC will not prepare a certified supplemental court transcript or CAR when the AC issues a fully favorable decision following a sentence six remand. However, the AC will submit a copy of the decision to the Office of the General Counsel for filing with the district court to close out the civil action.
If the AC issues a fully or partially favorable decision and the case is not a certified electronic folder, the BC will alert the effectuating component using the most expeditious method practical.
b. Denial, Dismissal, or Unfavorable Decision
CCPRB staff will follow normal procedures when releasing the action document and preparing the CAR, if necessary.
c. Remand
When the AC remands a critical case to an administrative law judge, the AC will expedite standard procedures for releasing the remand order. When a paper file is involved, the AC will forward the file(s) to the hearing office by the most expeditious means practical. For paper TERI, VPAT, MC/WW, CAL, HMLS, or DRND cases, the AC will clearly annotate all transmittals and envelopes “TERI,” “VPAT,” “MC/WW,” “CAL,” “HMLS,” or “DRND” case.