In Article 78 review, the appellate division's review is confined to what?

• A. The administrative record
• B. The agency's notes, plus new evidence
• C. The parties' affidavits only
• D. The agency's advisory opinions

Answer: (A)

In Article 78 review, the court acts as an appellate reviewer of agency action and is constrained to the administrative record—the documents and materials the agency actually relied on when it made its decision. The judge does not look to new submissions or to notes and materials created after the decision, nor to advisory opinions, to determine the correctness of the agency’s action. Instead, the key question is whether the agency acted within its authority and whether the decision is supported by substantial evidence in that record. That is why the confinement is the administrative record.