Civil Rights are Civil Rights are Civil Rights: The Inapplicability of Preclusion to Unreviewed State Administrative Decisions

This Comment addresses the history and intent behind administrative law and agency decision-making, and examines the differences between administrative proceedings and their judicial counterparts. Part II explains the history and effect of claim preclusion. Part III discusses the foundations of Administrative Law. Part IV reviews the Supreme Court\u27s treatment of the preclusive effects of unreviewed agency determinations in civil rights cases, with particular focus on civil rights cases arising under Title VII, the ADEA, and §1983. Part V addresses the necessity and importance of judicial review of administrative agency findings. Part VI reviews the history and purpose of the civil rights movement. Finally, Part VII argues that the three statutes should be treated equally for preclusion purposes in light of the original Congressional intent of upholding civil rights and the continuing importance of civil rights enforcement. Specifically, this Comment proposes that each unreviewed §1983 administrative adjudication receive protection under the same umbrella as its constitutional cousins, Title VII and the ADEA, and exempt these adjudications from preclusive effects in subsequent federal proceedings