Course Details

Legislation

Statutes have increasingly replaced common law court decisions as the principal expression of public policy and the dominant source of law in the United States. Reflecting this development, many upper level courses are heavily oriented toward fields of statute-based law. The emphasis in most of these courses, however, is necessarily on the law and policy of a particular substantive area, not on legislation as such. This course lays the groundwork for the study and practice of statutory law in all substantive areas by exploring some of the major theories, techniques, and issues of modern legislation and statutory interpretation. The course is designed to be both practical and theoretical. It will introduce basic principles of close textual analysis and substantive and semantic canons of construction. It will orient students to the legislative process that produces statutes and will examine the major theories of the legislative process in a democracy. The course will also explore the relevance and weight of legislative history and provide an introduction to the relationships between statutes and judicial and executive decisions. Registration Requirements: Open to 1Ls Evaluation Method: Final Examination and Class Participation

Catalog Number: CONPUB 644
Practice Areas: Constitutional Law & ProcedureState and Local Government
Additional Course Information: Appellate Law Conc, Elec - Environmental Law Conc, Foundational Courses, Open to First Year Students


Course History

Spring 2024
Title: Legislation
Faculty: Zimmerman, Clifford (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 39

Spring 2023
Title: Legislation
Faculty: Mulaney, Ellen S. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 68

Fall 2022
Title: Legislation
Faculty: Kleinfeld, Joshua (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 26

Spring 2022
Title: Legislation
Faculty: Mulaney, Ellen S. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 68

Fall 2021
Title: Legislation
Faculty: Kleinfeld, Joshua (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 18