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Federal agencies make an astounding number of policy decisions, engaging in more "lawmaking" and "adjudication" than Congress and the federal courts, respectively. These policy decisions range from the seemingly trivial, such as how many cherries are needed for frozen cherry pie, to matters of life-and-death importance, such as how to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. These agencies also range in age, organization, and duties. There is the postal service, which was created by the Continental Congress, and changed over five decades ago from a cabinet-level department to a government corporation, with current calls to privatize it. On the newer side, there is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was established in 2011 to protect consumers in the financial arena; its leadership and funding elements produced constitutional challenges that recently resulted in the Supreme Court invalidating its leadership structure (but upholding its funding structure outside congressional appropriations). And there is DOGE--not a formal "department" but an entity making large-scale changes to other federal agencies, including the CFPB. In this quarter of Administrative Law, we 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 decisionmaking; availability and scope of judicial review of agency action (and inaction); and other forms of agency oversight. We will apply concepts through many recent examples, including from the Biden Administration and the second Trump Administration. A variety of policy areas will be considered, including (among others) the COVID-19 pandemic, national security, financial regulation, health care, the environment, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Exam. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar website https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/. Click SUNetID Login in the top right corner of the page and then click the "Consent Courses" tab. See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. This course will be capped at 70 students, randomly selected. The waitlist will give priority to students graduating in 2026 who cannot take the class in the winter quarter and second year students taking a winter quarter clinic that uses Administrative Law.

(Formerly Law 563) Over the past century, tort law has been under sustained attack. Using a broad mix of case law, case studies, and scholarly analysis, this seminar will interrogate those attacks-including their historical roots, their theoretical justifications, and their practical effects. We will first study "replacement reforms"-attempts to jettison the common law in favor of alternative compensation mechanisms, including workers' compensation, auto no-fault, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, housed within the U.S. Court of Claims. Second, we will study modern tort reform initiatives, often dubbed "discouragement reforms," which have chiseled away at damages and chilled personal injury victims' incentives and capacity to seek relief. Finally, we will study the United States Supreme Court's own tort reform activity, including recent jurisprudence limiting punitive damages, preferencing arbitration, and granting broad preemptive effect to agency actions. Through this analysis, students will develop a deeper and richer understanding of the tort system, its contemporary operation and excesses, and the uneasy but undeniably important place tort law-and civil litigation more generally-occupies in contemporary American society. Special Instructions: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and either several short reflection papers (section (01)) or an independent research paper (section (02)). After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Students taking the course for R credit can take the course for either 2 or 3 units, depending on paper length. Elements used in grading: Class participation, class attendance, reflection papers or research paper. Early drop deadline.

(Formerly Law 735) Despite the end of the Great Recession, serious fiscal challenges remain for many urban and rural local governments. This course will focus on these places and what they need from state and local government. Subjects will include: (1) the basics of local finance; (2) an introduction to the primary causes of local fiscal distress; (3) tools for state and federal governance of city finances and financial distress (including municipal bankruptcy and state receiverships); and (4) the local public sector's role in anti-poverty work, especially after significant losses in local employment. The course will feature readings focused on places (both urban and rural) across the country. Class performance will be evaluated based on class participation, an in-class presentation, and weekly reflection papers of 3-5 pages each week for most of our topics. Completion or co-enrollment with Local Government or Land Use Law is useful but not required. Elements Used in Grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments or Research Paper. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

In recent years, the use of ballot measures has sharply risen, and initiatives and referenda have featured prominently in contested debates over immigration, affirmative action, abortion, same sex marriage and term limits. In the wake of the Dobbs decision on abortion, controversies about abortion-related ballot measures have become especially salient in many states. And the initiative process itself has become more contested and controversial, as legislatures in several states have sought to limit its use. This seminar will focus on direct democracy as a method of lawmaking. Our principal focus will be on initiatives and referenda, but we will allocate some time to the recall, as well. We will consider the history, practice, theoretical justifications, and constitutional dimensions of direct democracy, as well as how direct democracy interacts with representative democracy. We will also explore many legal questions that have arisen as ballot measures have been used as instruments of governance and policy. Topics will include whether direct democracy comports with the federal constitution; judicial review and interpretation of ballot measures; minority rights under direct democracy; election rules relating to signature gathering, qualifying ballot measures and campaign finance; attempts to make it more difficult for voters to qualify and pass ballot measures; and the role of interest groups. Students will be asked to briefly present on an identified ballot measures, and, along with another student, help lead discussion for one week's session. Students will write either multiple response papers or a single final research paper (for R credit) on a topic to be worked out with the instructor. Special Instructions: After the term begins, students can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Students taking the seminar for R credit can take the seminar for either 2 or 3 units, depending on the paper length. Elements used in grading: Class participation, assignments, multiple response papers or a final paper.

This seminar will explore various ways in which constitutional law interacts with the political process. Topics covered will include the appointment and confirmation process for federal judges and justices, judicial campaigns and elections in the states, controversies over court-packing and court-curbing, the role of social movements in shaping constitutional law, various approaches to "popular constitutionalism," ratification of constitutional amendments, and public opinion and the Supreme Court, among others. Readings will include cases, as well as perspectives from legal scholars, political scientists and historians. Students will be assigned to prepare and circulate discussion questions for one week of the class. Students can choose to write a final R paper or take an exam. Students writing the paper may take the class for 2 credits or write a longer paper for 2 or 3 credits. The paper will be due at the law school's paper deadline for fall quarter classes. Students taking the exam will take the course for 2 credits and will be asked on the exam to answer essay questions about the major issues covered in the class. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: The grade will be based on the paper or exam, along with class participation.

This seminar will address current issues in civil liberties and civil rights arising at both the federal and state level, with an emphasis on the policies of the Trump administration. It is intended to be both timely and topical. As a result, the initial syllabus may be revised if new and significant issues later emerge. Among the topics that are likely to be discussed are hate speech, immigration, reproductive rights, voting rights, affirmative action, LGBT rights, and privacy. We will begin by focusing first on background legal principles and then on applying those legal principles to each debated policy. We will also consider the real world consequences that flow from different legal outcomes. There is no casebook. Instead, weekly readings will consist of judicial decisions, statutory and regulatory texts, and published articles (both academic and popular). Any that are not easily accessible will be circulated prior to class. Elements used in grading: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and either several short papers (Section 01) or an independent research paper for Research credit (Section 02). After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.

This course covers the major doctrines and decisions interpreting the provisions of the First Amendment affecting religion, especially the free exercise and establishment clauses. The principal focus is on modern Supreme Court cases and doctrine, but the course also emphasized the historical, philosophical, and theological roots of first amendment principles. Elements used in grading: Final Exam.

This course addresses U.S. constitutional history from the post-Civil War Reconstruction period through the mid-20th century. Because of the breadth of the subject matter, the view will necessarily be partial. In particular we will take as our focus the way the Constitution has provided a point of political mobilization for social movements challenging economic and social inequality. Topics covered include: Civil War Reconstruction and restoration; the rise of corporate capitalism and efforts to constrain it; Progressive Era regulation; the New Deal challenge to federalism and the anti-New Deal backlash; government spending; WWII and the Japanese Internment; the Civil Rights Era, and the War on Poverty. Readings will include both legal and historical materials with a focus on the relationship between law and society. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments, Final Paper. Paper extensions will be granted with instructor permission. No automatic grading penalty for late papers. Cross-listed with American Studies ( AMSTUD 155) and History ( HISTORY 155).

The Fourteenth Amendment is the focal point for many of the most contentious issues in contemporary constitutional law, from abortion to affirmative action to voting rights to criminal justice. This course will begin by paying attention to the origins of the Amendment: to what did it respond and how did it alter our constitutional framework? Rather than then going through section 1 of the amendment clause by clause (citizenship, privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection) and then skipping to section 5 and Congressional power--we will briefly discuss the seldom mentioned sections 2 and 3, but don't worry, we won't spend a minute on the public debt provisions of section 4!--the course will then explore the amendment's doctrinal evolution with respect to several broad areas of American life, ranging from education to democracy to the economy to criminal justice to intimate relationships (not necessarily in that order). Obviously, we can't cover every area that the amendment touches. But the idea is to give you the tools to work with the changing doctrine and to be an intelligent critic of where we started and where we are. Class format will be a combination of lecture, on-call panels, and open discussion. Grading will be based on an exam and class participation. PREREQUISITE: Constitutional Law ( Law 203).