Course Details

Local Government Law

This course explores the law as it pertains to the most vital form of governance and regulation in America: local governments. Local government is the government closest to the citizen and the one whose decisions affect our lives and property holdings the most. It regulates real estate markets (e.g., land use controls, economic development policies), it taxes, it runs the police, and it delivers other essential services, including education, transportation, and parks. In addition it is the most accessible arena for citizen participation in the political process. The course is thus concerned with the actualities and potentialities of decentralization of power. In accordance, the course focuses on issues such as federal and state control of local decision-making; the different forms of local power recognized in American law; the relationship patterns-competition, cooperation, conflict-between different localities (e.g., cities and suburbs, cities and special districts); the economic and social effects of the reliance on local taxation as a source of funding for local services such as education; the privatized or neighborhood-based alternatives to city-delivered services, regulation, and governance; local debt and bankruptcy; and the ways in which racial and economic divisions fracture American metropolitan areas. The course is open to first, second, and third year law students. There are no prerequisites to taking this course. It is not necessary to have studied constitutional law or property law prior to taking this course. The exam is self-scheduled and open-books. Required Text: Casebook: Frug, Ford and Barron, Local Government Law.

Catalog Number: CONPUB 617S

Additional Course Information: Open to First Year Students


Course History

Spring 2024
Title: Local Government Law
Faculty: Shoked, Nadav (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 43

Spring 2023
Title: Local Government Law
Faculty: Shoked, Nadav (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 70     Actual: 40