Categories: Administrative and Regulatory Law Municipal and Local Government

Instructor(s)

Levine, Steven

Course Data

Room 2211
R 9:50am-11:50am

Pass/Fail: Yes

Course Description

State Administrative Law is a two credit seminar course which will concentrate (not surprisingly) on state administrative law -- specifically, Wisconsin administrative law. While there certainly are similarities between state and federal administrative law, most of you who find yourselves practicing administrative law will probably do so at the state level. So, this seminar will concentrate on Wisconsin Administrative Law, although federal law and law from other states may appear in our discussions for comparison. The course divides itself nicely into three sections: administrative agency rulemaking, administrative hearings, and judicial review of agency decisions. There is no text. What you will need for the course is a copy of Chapter 227 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which will be available from the duplication center. Other handouts may be distributed during the semester. In order to save trees and paper, cases will be discussed via your laptop and the online research services. The first hour of each class will consist of a lecture and class discussion of the various statutes, topics, and concepts on the syllabus, which will be emailed to you 7-10 days prior to the first class. The second hour will be devoted to a discussion of the related cases listed for each week, with students assigned to lead the discussion of specific cases. Each class will be informal and based on discussion, questions, and debate rather than formal lecture and grilling, a la Professor Kingsfield in the movie The Paper Chase. The major purpose of each class will be to learn, have fun, and enjoy Wisconsin administrative law (and to acquire knowledge in an area of law which might prove valuable in getting that first legal job). Grades will be based on three take-home exams (each exam 30% of the final grade) at the end of each section of the course. There will be no final exam. Class participation (and, of course, preparation) is greatly encouraged and will count for the remaining 10% of your grade. As mentioned above, learning to appreciate and enjoy this area of law, which may become a good part of your practice, is the main purpose of the course. Welcome, and enjoy the wonderful world of Wisconsin Administrative Law!

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