Local Government Law (Feder)
Faculty
|
|
| Richard Feder Lecturer in Law richiefeder@gmail.com |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Expository Writing
Grading
10% Participation,
60% Exam,
30% Paper
Exam
Essay,
Take Home,
Open-Book
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
MW 10:30AM - 11:50AM
Silverman Hall 280
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
3.0
Local governments often affect our daily lives in far more concrete ways than do the federal or state government. Local laws and services can determine where we live, build, or work; how our children are going to be educated; and the quality of life in and outside our neighborhoods. This course will explore the legal structure of local governments, including the sources of local government authority, limits on local government actions, the tension between state and local control, and the internal decision-making structures of local governments. We will read cases and materials from around the country, and draw on examples from Philadelphia, from Pennsylvania, and from other jurisdictions, with a non-exclusive focus on urban government.
Through a combination of lecture and much class discussion, we will consider whether it makes sense for more or fewer government functions to be performed at the local level; we will examine the mechanisms in place to promote well-informed decision making in the public interest; and we will examine the factors that go into local government policy-making. Topics of study will include home rule, preemption, internal separation of powers, land use regulation, public education, government contracting, revenue generation, legislative process, and the role of the local government lawyer. We will also look at how the law affects local government’s ability to address current pressing issues, including affordable housing; homelessness; and racial disparities.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Administrative and Regulatory Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of administrative and regulatory law and the administrative process, including the role of statutory authorization and work of administrative agencies; Perform legal analysis in the context of administrative and regulatory law; Communicate effectively on topics related to administrative and regulatory law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role administrative and regulatory law play in our legal system and in society as a whole.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.