Morgan v. United States (Ii)

304 U.S. 1 (1938)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

After remand from the first case, the court received the evidence which had been introduced at its previous hearing, together with additional testimony bearing upon the nature of the hearing accorded by the Secretary. The Court held with findings of fact and conclusions of law, that the hearing before the Secretary was adequate and, on the merits, that his order was lawful. It appears that there were about 10,000 pages of transcript of oral evidence and over 1,000 pages of statistical exhibits. The oral argument was general and sketchy. Ps submitted the brief which they had presented after the first administrative hearing and a supplemental brief dealing with the evidence introduced upon the rehearing. No brief was at any time supplied by the Government. Apart from what was said on its behalf in the oral argument, the Government formulated no issues and furnished appellants no statement or summary of its contentions and no proposed findings. Ps' request that the examiner prepare a tentative report, to be submitted as a basis for exceptions and argument, was refused. Findings were prepared in the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, whose representatives had conducted the proceedings for the Government, and were submitted to the Secretary, who signed them, with a few changes in the rates, when his order was made on June 14, 1933. No opportunity was afforded to Ps for the examination of the findings thus prepared in the Bureau of Animal Industry until they were served with the order. Ps sought a rehearing by the Secretary, but their application was denied on July 6, 1933, and these suits followed. On this appeal, Morgan (Ps) again contend (1) that the Secretary's order was made without the hearing required by the statute, and (2) that the order was arbitrary, and unsupported by substantial evidence.