Appeal to the full Commission
The ALJ’s final ID can be appealed to the full Commission provided a petition for review is filed within 10 days of the issuance of the ALJ’s final ID. The other parties may file responses to such a petition. Any issues not raised in a petition for review are deemed waived. The Commission’s decision on whether to grant a petition for review is due no later than 45 days after the issuance of the ID. The standard on review is whether the final ID contains a clearly erroneous finding of material fact, an erroneous legal conclusion, or affects Commission policy. The Commission can also vote to review an ALJ’s final ID, sua sponte.
If a petition for review is denied, the ALJ’s final ID is adopted and becomes the ITC’s final determination. If a petition for review is granted, the parties will typically be given a briefing schedule, a list of the specific issues that are under review, and one or more questions or topics that the Commission wishes to have addressed. Those portions of the ALJ’s ID that are not under review are deemed to be adopted and become part of the ITC’s final determination. At its discretion, the Commission can adopt, modify, or reverse the ALJ’s final ID. In rare instances, the Commission may put aside a finding of violation if such a determination would be contrary to the public interest.
Appeal of the Commission’s final determination
Final Commission determinations are appealable to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) as are district court determinations. The notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days of the final determination. The ITC’s factual findings are reviewed by the CAFC under a substantial evidence test rather than the clearly erroneous test applied to district court findings. Thus, Commission factual findings are given more deference that district court findings. Commission legal conclusions, however, are given no deference and are reviewed under the same de novo standard of review as are district court legal conclusions.
