A hearing officer is also known as an administrative law judge. These officers work within the government to decide cases through different agencies. The cases can be on different matters with disputes between different agencies, or the public. The officer is government appointed to preside over agency investigations and hearings so that the agencies can exercise their powers through the court system. They often preside over ruling decisions that were made by agencies and disputed, such as in insurance and disability cases. The hearing officers may also preside in the federal jurisdiction for governmental cases.