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The National Appeals Division reports directly to the Secretary of Agriculture and is independent of other parts of USDA. Its sole mission is to provide fair and timely hearings and appeals to USDA program participants.

Any person who receives an adverse program decision from USDA's Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or the three USDA Rural Development agencies may file an appeal with NAD.

NAD employs a two-stage appeal process. A participant has a right to a hearing in his state of residence before a NAD hearing officer. Thereafter, either the appellant or the agency may ask the NAD Director to reverse the hearing officer's determination.

December 2009 – Last month NAD welcomed four new Hearing Officers in its Western Region: two new Hearing Officers in North Dakota, Michelle Heinzen and Ted Hinesley; one in Texas, Monique Broadnax; and one in Nebraska, Steven Gabrial. Ms. Heinzen comes to NAD after serving as Legal Counsel for the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and will be located in Fargo. Previously, Ms. Heinzen owned a medium-sized insurance agency, held a cabinet position with the State of Washington 's Office of Financial Management and was the Chief of the Office of Administrative Hearings in Washington State.  Ms. Heinzen received her law degree from the University of Wyoming-College of Law in Laramie, Wyoming, as well as a specialized degree in military law from the University of Virginia Judge Advocate General 's School in Charlottesville, Virginia . 

Ted Hinesley joins NAD as a Hearing Officer in Bismarck. He previously was a Special Assistant Attorney General, in which position he advised the South Dakota State Veteran's Home on statutory interpretations and litigated claims. Prior to that Mr. Hinesley was in private practice and served as City Attorney of the City of Edgemont, South Dakota . Mr. Hinesley held various positions with the United States Air Force such as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Assistant Staff Judge Advocate. He was also an Associate Professor at the United States Air Force Academy. Mr. Hinesley received his law degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Monique Broadnax joins NAD as a Hearing Officer in Dallas, Texas . Previously, Ms. Broadnax was an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Social Security Administration and defended ALJ decisions denying disability claims in Federal District Courts. Prior to that Ms. Broadnax served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. Ms. Broadnax also served in the United States Navy as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate and Judge Advocate. She received her law degree from the Indiana University School of Law.

Steven Gabrial joins NAD as a Hearing Officer in Omaha, Nebraska. Prior to joining NAD, Mr. Gabrial was a prosecutor with the Felony Division of the Douglas County ( Nebraska ) Attorney's Office. Mr. Gabrial also held the position of an Assistant Attorney General (Child Protection Division) with the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, where he prosecuted child abuse cases and represented the State in appellate court. In the United States Air Force, Mr. Gabrial held a number of positions such as the Chief-Air Force Utility Litigation Team, Chief Trial Counsel-Eastern Judicial Circuit, Staff Judge Advocate, and Defense Counsel. He received his law degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

December 2009 – This month NAD welcomes four more Hearing Officers: three new Hearing Officers in its Southern Region--Jane Lesko in Charlotte, North Carolina; Mark Nelson in Little Rock, Arkansas; and M. Douglas Newman in Orlando, Florida—and one new Hearing Officer in its Eastern Region, Ellen Healey in Madison, Wisconsin.

Jane Lesko has a background that combines private and public sector experience.  Ms. Lesko served as a Magistrate and Staff Attorney for the Court of Common Pleas, Ashtabula County, Ohio. Ms. Lesko's previous experience includes 10 years of private practice. While in private practice, she represented a variety of clients in civil, criminal, domestic relations, juvenile, and probate matters. Ms Lesko earned her Juris Doctor degree from Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio, and a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Toledo, where she majored in Criminal Justice.

Mark Nelson brings a strong background of public sector experience to his position.  He served as a Law Clerk for the Kentucky Supreme Court for the past two years and spent the previous three years as a Staff Attorney for the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Prior to these positions, Mr. Nelson served as an Assistant County Attorney in Barren County, Kentucky. Mr. Nelson earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law, and a Bachelor's Degree from Mankato State University, where he majored in Mathematics and minored in Law Enforcement.

M. Douglas Newman had a long career in the United States Navy, where he served in various roles as Chief Military Judge of the Southeastern Judicial Circuit, Military Judge, Force Judge Advocate, Staff Judge Advocate, and as an Administrative Hearing Officer for National Environmental Policy Act Hearings.  Mr. Newman earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Alabama School Of Law, an LL.M. degree from George Washington University, and a Bachelor's Degree from the University of South Alabama, where he majored in History and minored in English.

Ellen Healey served as an Investigator with the Office of Lawyer Regulation, Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Prior to that experience, Ms. Healey served in the United States Marine Corps in several Judge Advocate positions, her last as an Appellant Judge for the Navy/Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Ms. Healey earned a Juris Doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul , Minnesota, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, where she majored in political science and social science.

November 2009 – Secretary Vilsack has amended NAD’s rules of procedure to provide that the Equal Access to Justice Act and other provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act generally applicable to agency adjudications apply to NAD proceedings. The rule is effective November 6, 2009. A copy of the rule is available by clicking here. The Equal Access to Justice Act (at section 504 of title 5, United States Code) provides for an award of reasonable attorney fees and expenses to eligible prevailing parties (other than the United States) in qualifying agency adjudications. USDA has implemented the Act in regulations codified at 7 C.F.R. Part 1, Subpart J. Those regulations may be viewed by going to the “Laws and Regulations” page of NAD’s website and clicking on the right, “I want to . . . File an Application for Fees.”

May 2009 – The National Appeals Division has begun publishing appealability rulings on this website.  By law, a person may ask the NAD Director whether an adverse decision can be appealed to NAD when the issuing agency says it cannot; the Director's letter decision is administratively final. These letters are now also published on the NAD website in the same place that you can find other NAD decisions. http://www.nad.usda.gov/public_search.html. On that web page you can click for recent determinations, which will include appealabilities issued in the last seven days; or you can select Appealability Determination from the drop-down list provided. You may also click here for a report that shows how often people who ask for appealability rulings are successful.

October 2008 – The National Appeals Division has revised the NAD Guide. The guide sets forth NAD's policies and procedures for activities from appealability reviews through hearings and reconsiderations to Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) reviews. It outlines policies and procedures for employee conduct, managing the hearing process, preparing determinations, and ensuring the quality and consistency of correspondence and determinations. It is available to the public by clicking here.

September 2008 – Director Klurfeld and staff member Steven Placek have recently published an article in a peer-reviewed legal writing journal, the Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. According to the Association’s web site, the Journal’s fall 2008 edition “will publish articles about the ‘best practices’ of legal writing in contexts other than the traditional litigation setting. Although much valuable legal writing scholarship has focused on the memoranda and briefs that are produced in connection with lawsuits, many lawyers are engaged in other kinds of writing: they draft transactional documents, legislation, rules, and regulations; they write formal and informal opinions and correspondence; they produce essays and articles for legal scholars and practicing lawyers.”

The Association's web site is http://www.alwd.org/, and you can find the article at http://www.alwd.org/JALWD/CurrentIssues/2008/KlurfeldPlacek_1.html This article went through a very thorough process of scholarly peer-review panels and editing, and it is our hope that its final publication validates some of the writing program initiatives NAD have taken and continues to implement.

June 2008 – On June 4, 2008, Secretary Edward T. Schafer reappointed Roger Klurfeld to a second six-year term as Director of the National Appeals Division, effective June 16, 2008.  In his reappointment letter, Secretary Schafer said, “The Director's position is an extremely important one, and I am convinced that the Division's record of independent and effective adjudication will continue under your direction.”

In reporting his reappointment to NAD employees, Mr. Klurfeld noted that the reputation recognized by the Secretary had been achieved through the efforts of all NAD employees.

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Los informes Nacionales de la División de Atracciones directamente al Secretario de la Agricultura y es independiente de otras partes de USDA. Su única misión es de proporcionar justo y audiciones y atracciones oportunas a participantes de programa de USDA.

Las personas que reciban decisiones adversas de un programa por parte de la Agencia de Servicios Agrícolas, de la Agencia de Manejo de Riesgos, del Servicio de Conservación de los Recursos Naturales o de las tres agencias de Desarrollo Rural del USDA, podrán presentar una apelación ante la NAD.

La NAD utiliza un proceso de apelación en dos etapas. Los participantes tienen derecho a una audiencia en el estado en que residen ante un funcionario de audiencias de la NAD. A partir de entonces, el apelante o la agencia puede solicitar al Director de la NAD que revoque la decisión del funcionario de audiencias.

Presentación y solicitud de apelaciones.

Last Modified: 12/07/2009