Last Update: 6/26/2023 (Transmittal I-4-93)

HA 01420.001 Overview of Preparing the Certified Administrative Record

Renumbered from HALLEX section I-4-2-1

When a court legal assistant receives a new court case that is ready to work, the court legal assistant will prepare the certified administrative record (CAR). See Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual HA 01410.012 C.

When assigned a new court case, the court legal assistant will:

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  Confirm the civil action was timely filed and that the claimant has court rights (see HALLEX HA 01410.002);

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  Determine case priority and verify the completeness of the record (see HALLEX HA 01420.005);

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  Assemble all procedural documents (see HALLEX HA 01420.010) and evidentiary documents (HALLEX HA 01420.020) in the record;

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  Identify the type of certification needed (HALLEX HA 01420.030); and

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  Take necessary action to prepare and finalize the CAR.

If a case is assigned to a court legal assistant before a Court Case Preparation and Review Branch (CCPRB) receives the hearing recording(s) or the hearing transcript(s), the court legal assistant will assemble the record to the greatest extent possible without the information and wait to receive the information. Once the court legal assistant receives the missing information, the court legal assistant will complete the assembly process.

When preparing a CAR, if the court legal assistant discovers additional evidence either in the claim(s) file or in newly associated correspondence that the Appeals Council (AC) has not yet considered, the case must be assigned to a CCPRB analyst to review the record in light of the additional evidence and determine the appropriate action (see HALLEX HA 01410.015 D). Additionally, if the claimant is obtaining judicial review of a case in which the AC issued a dismissal order, the case must also be assigned to a CCPRB analyst to review whether the dismissal was appropriate and defensible.