Under what conditions may an administrative agency make a disposition through a fully automated system, and when is that not permitted?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind, we read the statute under which the disposition was made, to see whether it provides for automated handling, and the system records or notices showing how the disposition was produced and whether any official intervened.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision at its word: an administrative agency may make a disposition through a fully automated system, a category the provision says includes a system applying artificial intelligence technology, but only as provided by statute, so the power to automate rests on a legal basis in the matter concerned.
Another reading turns on the proviso: where the disposition involves discretion, the agency may not use such a system, and the provision does not define 'fully automated' or when a disposition involves discretion, leaving both to be shown on the file rather than assumed.
Your judgment
If the system applied fixed criteria but an official reviewed the result before it was issued, does the file show the disposition was made by a fully automated system?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to define 'fully automated' or 'discretion', or if a court or administrative decision explains when a disposition involving automated handling still involves discretion.