Administrative Law and Politics: Cases and Comments

Harrington and Carter know that bureaucratic government is no cure for the shortcomings of free enterprise, yet understand that government oversight and regulation is crucial to keeping power within democratic boundaries. For students who will soon embark on jobs in government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations, this proven casebook will help lay a foundation of knowledge for effective decision making and critical evaluation of ethics in the rule of law. At its heart, the book aims to alert students to the tremendous scope and power of administrative government and to how the legal system shapes administrative procedure and practice.

Now in its fourth edition, Administrative Law and Politics continues to balance case excerpts and commentary, and has been thoroughly updated to account for recent developments, such as:

• the centralization of executive powers
• the impact of privatization on administrative accountability
• the public’s interest when government services and provisions are outsourced
• the expansion of investigatory powers under FISA and the legal challenge brought by the ACLU
• the range of legal procedures that are commonly found in administrative practices, such as university sexual harassment procedures
• the conflicts of interest when policy regarding future administrative rules is not open and transparent, as in the case of Cheney v. District Court for the District of Columbia

New cases include Kelo v. City of New London, FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., United States v. Mead Corporation, Dow Chemical Company v. United States, and Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. Updated end-of-chapter exercises and questions encourage students to consider the majority and dissenting opinions in recent and highly controversial cases such as Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Gratz v. Bollinger.