Administrative Law A1
Fall term, Block B
Th,F 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Dean Elena Kagan
3 classroom credits LAW-30000A Fall
This course will study the processes of law making and law application by the executive departments of government (including "independent" regulatory agencies). Its central theme is the tension between law and discretion, between the need for grants of power sufficient to ensure effective government and the need to limit that power to protect citizens from government oppression and unfairness. The course will first explore the constitutional status of the administrative agencies and how the Supreme Court has rationalized their exercise of government power outside of the traditional tripartite divisions of the Constitution. It will then explore the methods developed by the courts to control administrative power, including the development of procedural formalities in administrative decision-making and judicial review of agency fact-finding and lawmaking. It will also explore doctrines governing the availability of judicial review of administrative action, including standing and ripeness.