Seminar – 2 hours. Much of our modern federal government relies on administrative agencies exercising authority delegated to them by Congress. Federal courts have traditionally deferred to agencies’ implementation of the statutes they administer, although these courts also set aside (or “vacate”) agency actions they find to be unlawful. In recent years, however, several justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have openly called for revisiting several administrative law doctrines that underlie this system. They have questioned, for example: Congress’s constitutional capacity to delegate regulatory authority to federal agencies, whether courts should defer to agencies’ interpretations of statutes, and whether a district court has the power to strike down unlawful agency actions. Each of these topics may have profound implications for the separation of powers and the practice of law in fields ranging from immigration to financial regulation to the environment and public health. And debates over these topics are playing out, in real time, in the Supreme Court. This course will critically assess each of these topics, exploring the existing doctrines’ origins and seeking to understand arguments both for and against revisiting them.
Graduation Requirements: May satisfy Advanced Writing Requirement with instructor's permission.
Final Assessment: Paper
Grading Mode: Letter Grading