After 14 years with the U.S.Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and a total of over 18 years with the United States Department of Justice, Jamaican and J.C. Old Boy, Norman Orlando Hemming, accepts appointment as a federal Administrative Law Judge in the South Florida Hearing Office of the Social Security Administration. Norman served as Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, as a member of the five-person executive team helping supervise over 235 attorneys (prosecutors) and an equal number of support staff members serving four consolidated prosecuting offices from Key West through Fort Pierce.
As an Administrative Law Judge, Norman will continue to work for the Executive Branch of the United States government. Administrative law judges (or ALJs, for short) are appointed by, and work for, the United States government, delivering rulings in many areas of statutory law. Administrative law judges who work for the Social Security Administration (SSA) render decisions on Social Security disability claims at the hearing level. These ALJs preside at Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, formerly the Office of Hearings and Appeals (“ODAR”) locations. Most states have several ODAR offices with a Administrative Law Judges assigned to each.
The ALJ evaluates the disability claim for benefits and backpay for Claimants appearing before the Court. Through employment of the Socratic method and permitting the introduction of testimonial and documentary evidence, the ALJ entertains testimony from vocational Experts, Medical experts (MEs) who are M.D.’s who provide informed testimony regarding the interpretation of a claimant’s medical records.
Vocational experts (VEs) provide input regarding the range of available jobs for various occupations and whether a worker with certain impairments can do a particular job. In addition to questioning experts, ALJs also allow applicants, typically through their lawyers, the opportunity to present new medical evidence, which can strengthen a disability claim and/or refute the findings reached previously by DDS examiners.
Like all Jamaicans and in keeping with being a member or Fevret nation, Norman volunteers his time as an ordained minister with the Cooper City Church of God. Additionally he serves as a member of the Vice Provost’s Council for Florida International University, raising and dispensing hundreds of thousands of dollars in free tuition scholarships to Florida students, hailing from low socio-economic backgrounds like himself, who are first in their family to attend college or university. Concomitantly, Norman is the first federal Administrative Law Judge to simultaneously serve as a jurist and seek nonpartisan elected office as a candidate for Miramar City Commission Seat One, in his home locale of Miramar Florida, in elections scheduled for March 14, 2017. More information about his candidacy can be found at NormforCommish.com. Norman Hemming, a proud alumni of Jamaica College’s Chambers House, is a committed public servant who currently serves on the Executive Board of the Florida Chapter of the Jamaica College Old Boys Association.
Join with us in celebrating Norman’s appointment to the federal Bench.
