Also known as: public agencies · governmental agency · public authority
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental body or organization authorized by law to perform public functions or exercise governmental authority. The entity must act pursuant to statutory or constitutional grant and may include federal, state, or local instrumentalities that carry out regulatory, administrative, or service functions.
Preston Pratt served a deposition notice on the State Environmental Protection Agency describing with reasonable particularity the topics of permit issuance and enforcement records. The agency designated its permitting director and records custodian to testify on its behalf after conferring with Pratt's counsel. The designated witnesses appeared and answered questions based on information known or reasonably available to the agency.
Pilar Pena offered into evidence an investigative report prepared by the federal aviation safety agency after a runway incident. The report contained factual findings and conclusions reached pursuant to the agency's statutory authority. The court admitted the report after confirming its trustworthiness and limiting its use to the civil proceeding.
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Phoebe Park, a city health department official, filed suit to abate a public nuisance created by industrial runoff into a municipal waterway. The department possessed statutory authority to represent the city in such matters. The court recognized the department's standing to seek injunctive relief on behalf of the public.
Philip Powell challenged a municipal zoning ordinance that restricted commercial development on his land. The village council, acting as the local public agency, had enacted the measure under its police power to promote orderly growth. The court upheld the ordinance as a valid exercise of the agency's delegated authority.
Peter Park sued the city social services department after employees removed his children without due process. The department, as a public agency, was subject to suit under section 1983 for policies that caused the constitutional violation. The court permitted the claim to proceed against the agency itself.
Paul Peterson, a transit authority employee, claimed overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The authority argued it was exempt as a traditional public agency performing governmental functions. The court rejected the exemption and held the agency subject to the federal wage requirements.
A party may name a public agency as the deponent in a notice or subpoena under Rule 30(b)(6) provided the notice describes the matters for examination with reasonable particularity. The agency must then designate one or more persons to testify on its behalf about information known or reasonably available to the organization.
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Under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8), reports containing factual findings and conclusions resulting from investigations made pursuant to legal authority are admissible as public records. Admissibility remains subject to trustworthiness limits and scope restrictions that apply in civil actions and against the government in criminal cases.
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A public agency possesses standing to maintain an action to enjoin or abate a public nuisance when it has authority as a public official or public agency to represent the state or a political subdivision in the matter.
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Federal Rule of Evidence 101(b)(3) provides that the term public office includes a public agency. Rule 902(5) further addresses self-authentication of publications purporting to be issued by a public authority.
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…on the criminal law as an abstract, disembodied series of authoritative proscriptions, but the impact on those who rely on the public authority for protection and who without it can only engage in violent self-help with guns, knives and the help of their neighbors similarly inclined. There is, of course, a saving factor: the next…