Government and Politics (GOVMT)

This course is an introduction to the law of the administrative state - to the constitutional, statutory and judge-made rules governing what agencies may do, the procedures they must follow, and how they can be held to account.

This course covers federal and state election law and will examine the constitutional basis for the regulation of elections, the development of the law in this area over the last 30 years, as well as criminal and civil enforcement of the law, the role of the Federal Election Commission, the formation and regulation of political action committees, as well as related federal tax law provisions impacting operation of political committees and advocacy organizations. The course will also examine the intersection of the election law with congressional ethics rules, lobbying regulations and representation of political candidates and entities in election law matters.

This course deals with the enactment and construction of statutes with specific attention to the organization, procedures and powers of federal and state legislative bodies, to statutory drafting and construction, and to lobbying.

The course covers the wide variety of tools that lawyers and judges use to interpret statutes. A basic introduction to the legislative process and how important aspects of that process are relevant to statutory interpretation is also included. Students will be introduced to important techniques of statutory interpretation and the theoretical support for varying approaches to how judges do and should interpret statutes.

This course seeks to give the students a firm grounding in the law governing the domestic use of airspace for transportation and recreation. The licensing requirements of pilots, the struggle of the aviation industry to adapt to the market, the safety and security of passengers and the problems involved in building airports are just a few of the topics covered. The course provides an opportunity for those students who are interested in aviation to apply many of the subject they have studied in law school to a particular area of human activity. The cases studied in the course involve, inter alia: Administrative Law, Antitrust, Bankruptcy, Conflicts of Law, Contracts, Local Government Law, Environmental Law, Labor Law, Property Sales, Taxation and Torts.

Important issues in governmental organization and management are surveyed. Emphasis is placed on intergovernmental relations, the legislative process, personnel issues, financing, and contracting. The course will conclude with a consideration of recent trends toward metropolitan regionalism.