I-4-2-1.Overview of Preparing the Certified Administrative Record

When a court records assistant (CRA) receives a new court case that is ready to work, the CRA will prepare the certified administrative record (CAR). See Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual I-4-1-12 C.

When assigned a new court case, the CRA will:

• Determine case priority and verify the completeness of the record (see HALLEX I-4-2-5);

• Assemble all procedural documents (see HALLEX I-4-2-10) and evidentiary documents (HALLEX I-4-2-20) in the record and prepare an index for the CAR (HALLEX I-4-2-25);

• Identify the type of certification needed (HALLEX I-4-2-30); and

• Take necessary action to prepare and finalize the CAR. If the claim(s) file is paper, the CRA will forward the exhibits and appropriate procedural documents to the reprographics staff (HALLEX I-4-2-35). When the CRA receives the original exhibits and documents from the reprographics staff, he or she will associate them with the claim(s) file and forward the claim(s) file following the procedures set forth in HALLEX I-4-2-50 B.

If a case is assigned to a CRA before a Court Case Preparation and Review Branch receives the hearing recording or the hearing transcript, the CRA will assemble the record as much as possible without the information and wait to receive the information. Once the CRA receives the missing information, he or she will complete the assembly process.

When preparing a CAR, if the CRA discovers additional evidence either in the claim(s) file or in newly associated correspondence that the Appeals Council has not yet considered, the case must be assigned to an analyst to review the record in light of the additional evidence and determine the appropriate action (see HALLEX I-4-1-15 D).