Federal Indian Law (P. Frick*y)

This course concerns the legal relationships among American Indian tribes, the United States, and the states. Topics include the history of American Indian law; the conflicting tribal, state, and federal jurisdiction over persons and property on Indian lands; the concepts of tribal sovereignty and self-determination; and natural resources on Indian lands.

Labor & Employment Arbitration (B. Winogr*d)

This class will review key cases and articles considering the basic principles and practice of labor and employment arbitration in the union and non-union employment settings, including the more recent debate over compelling arbitration of statutory discrimination claims. Students also will be assigned practical exercises and will work in teams to present a mock arbitration case. There is no prerequisite for the seminar, although past or current study of Labor Law and Evidence would be helpful.

Labor Law (B. Winogr*d)

This course will consider the fundamental legal principles affecting labor relations in the private sector workplace. These principles are incorporated in the National Labor Relations Act, as amended. The course will emphasize the collective bargaining process and related topics, including labor-management negotiations, strikes, picketing, secondary boycotts, arbitration, federal preemption, and individual employee rights in the labor-management context.

Local Government Law (B. Stra*ss)

An overview of the law of local governments, including: organizational issues and the relationship between local governments and other levels of government; election law and conflicts of interest; constitutional restrictions on the police power and other exercise of local authority; land use and protection of the environment; public employment; public contracts; and governmental liability. The course will emphasize problem solving, using actual issues faced by attorneys working in local government law, and considering questions of appropriate public policy.

Legislation (P. Frick*y)

This course examines the legislative process, the relationship between the common law and statutes, and statutory interpretation. It focuses primarily on the theoretical and practical aspects of statutory interpretation, including overall theories of interpretation, the canons of statutory interpretation, and the use of legislative history. Because statutory interpretation is a skill needed by all attorneys, the course is designed to be of interest to any student.

Administrative Law (K. Bamberg*r)

This survey course will consider the creation and control of the modern administrative state. Topics will include the structure of administrative agencies and their place in a governing scheme of separated but overlapping powers, delegation of authority to agencies, types and requirements of agency decision-making, availability and scope of judicial review of agency action (and inaction), and other forms of agency oversight. A variety of policy areas will be considered, including (among others) the environment, energy, financial regulation, food and drugs, and telecommunications.

Constitutional Law: Structural Issues (J. Y*o)

This course engages in analysis of the structure of American government, as defined through the text of the Constitution and its interpretation. The major subjects covered are: the allocation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; the function of judicial review; and the role of states and federal government in the federal structure.

Constitutional Law & Development (R. Coot*r, J. Y*o)

This course examines the relationship between constitutional law and economic development. It will begin with theories of economic development, and then discuss the implications for the legal system. The class will focus on the effect of different constitutional choices on economic growth, such as the separation of powers, federalism, judicial review, and individual rights. Students may use any standard constitutional law casebook; additional readings will be distributed through a course website.

Education: Policy, Law, and the Fourth Estate (C. Edl*y)

For nearly two centuries, America’s leaders have viewed public education as a cornerstone of democracy. Over the past two decades, however, debate has intensified over whether and how the nation’s schools can more successfully fulfill their modern mission. Despite years of education reforms, all schools are still not created equally. In an ironic twist on Brown v. Board of Education (1954), America’s public schools are becoming resegregated. In California, a sweeping series of 2007 research reports indicated that the state needs a complete overhaul of public education and financing. These studies are playing out against the backdrop of reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in Congress. This national debate is driven by journalists reporting on research, ideological battles, litigation, and lobbying by advocates.

This course will examine the historical, political and social forces that shape education policy and law, with a particular look at how media coverage influences the debates and decisions. The goal is to build a bridge connecting the world of researchers, lawyers and policy experts to the world of parents, teachers, lawmakers, and the public on the other side. Specifically, all students will contribute to a significant multimedia research and reporting project.

Constitutional Law: Basic (G. L*u)

This is an introductory course on constitutional law. Among other topics, it covers judicial review, separation of powers, federalism, and equal protection. It examines how these concepts have been filtered through politics and institutional constraints during transformative eras of American history, such as the Founding, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights Movement. Individual rights and, in particular, the Bill of Rights will not be the focus of this course. However, the course will examine individual rights in the context of federal and state power, especially as structured by the Fourteenth Amendment.