Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-4-1 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to update instructions relating to new court case processing. We also made formatting and editorial changes throughout the sections.

Explanation of Content and Changes

This transmittal revises chapter I-4-1 as follows:

I-4-1-14 – We incorporated information formerly in HALLEX I-4-1-65, I-4-1-66, I-4-1-67, and I-4-1-68 into this section.

I-4-1-51 – We retitled the section “Case Priority and Initial Screening.” We combined subsections B through E in subsection B. We made other minor revisions to reflect changes to our business process.

I-4-1-52 – We added a new subsection A titled “General” that explains the procedural portion of the certified administrative record, and we moved the information previously found in subsection D into A. We moved the information that was in subsections A and B into newly titled subsection B, “Non-Exhibited Material Normally Included in the Procedural Record.” We re-titled subsection C, “Non-Exhibited Material Not Normally Included in the Procedural Record.” Former subsection E became subsection D, and we rearranged the structure of the subsection.

I-4-1-53 – We retitled the section “Hearing Transcript.” We added a new subsection A titled “General” and moved some of the information previously in subsection A to subsection B. We retitled subsection B “Determining Whether to Audit the Hearing” and removed outdated information. We retitled subsection C “Review of the Hearing Transcript.” We moved the information previously in subsection C to subsection B. We also reorganized information in each of the subsections and made other minor editorial changes.

I-4-1-54 – We made minor grammatical changes throughout the section. We added a NOTE in subsection A regarding when staff should contact management in certain complex cases. We also retitled subsection B “Translation of Documents” to better reflect the content in the subsection. We added the following headings in E.5. to correct a pre-existing organizational error: “Actions Before Retyping or Tracing” and “Actions When Retyping or Tracing.”

I-4-1-55 – We restructured this section so that the information is more easily identifiable.

I-4-1-56 – We moved information from subsection B to subsection A. We also removed obsolete HALLEX citations as well as references to positions that no longer exist in the Office of Appellate Operations.

I-4-1-57 – We divided this section into subsection A titled “General” and subsection B titled “Guidelines to Send the Record to Reprographics Staff.” We moved information formerly in HALLEX I-4-1-60 to subsection A to introduce the reprographics staff functions before addressing how the staff interacts with new court cases. We added instructions for electronic claim(s) file processing.

I-4-1-58 – We added introductory language to this section, including a HALLEX citation to special processing for expedited appeals cases. We moved information that addresses how to process an expedited appeal from subsection B to HALLEX I-4-1-42 and removed duplicative information. We moved information formerly in subsection C to subsection B. We redesignated former subsection D as subsection C. We redesignated former subsection E as subsection D. We redesignated former subsection F as subsection E, and we also added information formerly in subsection G to subsection E. Throughout the section, we removed or replaced outdated HALLEX citations. Additionally, we updated information about our current business process, and rearranged some information for ease of use.

I-4-1-60 – We moved the information in this section to HALLEX I-4-1-57 and deleted this section.

I-4-1-62 – We rearranged some information in this section for ease of use. We also revised the section to reflect updates in our business process, including electronic business processes. Additionally, we deleted obsolete HALLEX citations.

I-4-1-65 – We moved the information in this section to HALLEX I-4-1-14 and deleted this section.

I-4-1-66 – We moved the information in this section to HALLEX I-4-1-14 and deleted this section.

I-4-1-67 – We moved the information in this section to HALLEX I-4-1-14 and deleted this section.

I-4-1-68 – We moved the information in this section to HALLEX I-4-1-14 and deleted this section.

I-4-1-70 – We removed references to outdated systems that are no longer in use. We added defined terms to abbreviations, and we updated the time-period that files are retained at the Mega-site. We made other minor grammatical revisions.

I-4-1-80 – We added defined terms to abbreviations, and we removed the list of exhibits.

Date: December 1, 2014