Law Commons^™

What Ever Happened To The Appearance Of Fairness Doctrine? Local Land Use Decisions In An Age Of Statutory Process, W.T. Watterson

Seattle University Law Review

All states guarantee constitutional due process and fairness for both judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings. They differ, however, on the legal standard of fairness to apply to quasi-judicial proceedings. Many states rely on due process guarantees, that is, a proceeding which is fair in actual substance and procedure. Washington, however, has adopted more of the judicial standard for quasi-judicial actions, requiring "a hearing not only fair in substance, but fair in appearance as well." This "appearance of fairness doctrine" was originally developed within the context of local land use decisions. Later, it was applied to a broader spectrum of administrative proceedings. …