Also known as: administrative order · admin orders
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal directive or grant of permission issued by an administrative agency charged with interpreting or enforcing a law. Reliance on such an order later determined to be invalid or erroneous supplies a defense to criminal liability when the reliance is reasonable.
Aaron Adams requested a written classification ruling from the federal trade office before shipping navigation components. The ruling stated the parts were not controlled. Aaron exported the parts in reliance on that statement. When a later agency determination found the classification erroneous, the reasonable reliance on the administrative order established a defense to the export charge.
Apex Dynamics received an administrative order imposing price controls during wartime. The company complied with the order while challenging its constitutionality in enforcement proceedings. The order remained binding until reviewed, and violations carried criminal penalties even though the underlying validity was contested in court.
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The defense applies when a person acts in reasonable reliance on an official statement contained in an administrative order or grant of permission issued by the public officer or body charged with interpreting or enforcing the law. The order must later be determined invalid or erroneous. The defendant must prove the defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
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Common law did not permit a defense based on reliance on an incorrect official statement of the law. This rule applied even when the erroneous statement appeared in an administrative order or grant.
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The defendant must show that the administrative order came from the agency charged with responsibility for the law, that the reliance was reasonable, and that the order was later found invalid or erroneous. Proof is by a preponderance of the evidence.
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…proceedings, still less when these are civil in character and the later enforcement phase is criminal. In the enforcement of administrative orders the courts have been assiduous, perhaps at times extremely so,[^maj-24] to see that constitutional protections to the persons affected are observed. By trial and error, ways have been found…