Law Offices of John Michael Jensen

Parallel or Concurrent Proceedings: Administrative Hearing and Civil or Criminal Proceeding

Parallel or concurrent Administrative Hearings and Civil or Criminal Proceedings

John Jensen has litigated several matters in the OAH that involved concurrent or parallel proceedings, investigations, prosecution or litigation with pending criminal or civil matters in Superior Court. John Jensen was responsible for the administrative matter while working closely with the attorney who represented the client in the criminal or civil matter. These can be challenging and complex, especially when they are commenced by different agencies, different branches of government or private litigants.

Parallel or concurrent proceedings involve a common or overlapping set of facts which are raised in simultaneous or successive investigations or separate criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings.

Parallel or concurrent proceedings can be challenging and complex when they are commenced by different agencies, different branches of government or private litigants.

Defendants in criminal proceedings increasingly find themselves embroiled simultaneously in civil litigation or administrative hearings. The prosecuting or opposing party in the civil action may be a government agency or a private litigant.

Moreover, many federal, state, and local agencies are charged with enforcing statutes that carry both civil and criminal penalties. In many cases, a single act of misconduct creates the possibility of both criminal and civil liability, the actor may face parallel criminal and civil proceedings that occur simultaneously or successively

In addition to criminal sanctions, defendants in parallel civil proceedings face a broad spectrum of consequence. including restitution, remediation, fines, forfeiture, and loss of government benefits and privileges.

Important legal Issues raised by parallel administrative, civil and criminal proceedings include but are not limited to conflicts between the disparate scopes of discovery, and different evidentiary standards and protections in administrative venues versus criminal or civil cases

Parallel or concurrent proceedings also raise constitutional questions including double jeopardy, the Excessive Fines Clause, collateral estoppel.

Courts often have been inconsistent in interpreting administrative and statutory provisions but most courts have sought to balance society’s interest in swift resolution of both criminal and civil disputes against prejudice to either party stemming from parallel proceedings.

Concurrent litigation can be especially complicated and fraught as the government can try to use evidence gathered in one proceeding and admit it in another proceeding.

John Jensen has successfully litigated many high-profile and challenging administrative hearings before Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) and the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento.