ALJ Essex has retired from the ITC after a decade of service.  News of his retirement was provided in notices issued this week by Chief ALJ Bullock in investigations previously assigned to ALJ Essex.

Theodore R. Essex was appointed as an ALJ at the ITC in October 2007.  During his tenure, ALJ Essex presided over dozens of Section 337 investigations and authored more than 30 final initial determinations.  Many of ALJ Essex’s opinions have been discussed on the pages of this blog, including finding certain Commission’s remedial orders not enforceable (here); denying a request for supplementation of domestic industry evidence (here); and not allowing a defaulting respondent to assert invalidity defense against pending claims (here).  The most recent post reported on changes to his ground rules, limiting the length of pre-hearing briefs and opening arguments (here).

Prior to joining the ITC, ALJ Essex served as an administrative law judge and an attorney at several federal government agencies including the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals; the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; the U.S. Air Force; and the U.S. Department of State.  Earlier in his legal career ALJ Essex served as a Judge Advocate overseas, including Belgium, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

For now, the status of the investigations previously assigned to ALJ Essex remains unknown.  Chief ALJ Bullock temporarily assigned himself to these investigations pending the arrival of a new administrative law judge.

ALJ Essex’s impact on legal proceedings at the ITC has been significant.  We thank him for his long and distinguished public service and wish him a happy retirement.