LAW 947: Public Choice and Publice Law Seminar
Lawyers need a theory of lawmaking institutions. What motivates those in public office to action? How does the institutional setting affect the quality of decision making? Where will an advocate seeking legal reform most likely succeed? This course introduces students to public choice and social choice theories that provide insight into lawmaking, and relates covered concepts to actual cases, statues and legal doctrines. After an introduction to interest group theory and Arrow's Paradox, the seminar explores their relevance to the analysis of a number of issues in the sphere of public law. Topics include state and federal legislative decision-making processes; judicial decision-making processes, including the doctrines of star decisis and justiciability; federal judicial review; interest-group theories of constitutional and statutory interpretation; separation of public from private law; structural analysis of separation of powers and federalism; and the competing roles of efficiency and cycling on the evolution of legal doctrine. Specific coverage may vary. Each student must write a paper applying public choice or social choice theory to a legal issue, case, statute, or doctrine. Enrollment limited. [3 credit hours]
