Public Law Courses

This course will examine the nature and functions of federal administrative agencies and the legal controls on agency action. Agency action is situated and examined in its political and legal contexts. Topics include the status of administrative agencies in the constitutional framework of separation of powers including the non-delegation doctrine, the President's appointment and removal powers in light of the unitary executive, the constitutionality of the legislative and line-item vetoes, the constitutionality of agency adjudication, and the constitutional (and political) status of independent agencies; agency rulemaking and adjudication including the choice of procedural model and the procedural requirements of the rulemaking model; and the availability, timing and scope of judicial review of agency action including standing to seek judicial review and exceptions to the availability of judicial review. The course also examines different methods of policy analysis such as regulatory impact analysis and cost-benefit analysis. Additional topics include discriminatory enforcement, regulatory delay, judicial imposition of procedural constraints on agencies, the implication of private rights of action from regulatory statutes and the availability citizens' suits. Some attention may be paid to differences between state and federal separation of powers doctrines.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 801 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
FALL 2025: LAW JD 801 S1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 801 B1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

Admiralty and maritime cases comprise a significant portion of the case load of federal courts located near U.S. ports. Clerks for judges in those courts should have an understanding of this law. In addition, lawyers who handle international transactions will likely encounter admiralty and maritime issues even if they do not specialize in that practice; the practice of admiralty and maritime law is by nature international. Admiralty and maritime practitioners work with lawyers and clients from many nations and travel often to those nations; in the process they become part of a collegial group of practitioners who know and trust each other. The course will examine admiralty jurisdiction of the federal and state courts as well as oft litigated choice of law and choice of forum issues. Our examination of the substantive areas of admiralty and maritime law—including the international and domestic multimodal carriage of goods, charter parties (contracts to use an entire ship or part of a ship), salvage, towing, pilotage, collision, stranding, general average, and personal injury—will show how they fit together and affect one another. We shall also examine ship mortgages and marine insurance and the possible effects of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (Rotterdam Rules) a new treaty, not yet ratified by the United States. Finally, students in this course who satisfy the Stone Moot Court pre-requisite may apply for membership on the team for the national Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition, which will be held in Charleston, South Carolina from March 26 to 28, 2026 and which typically involves issues ripe for Supreme Court review. OFFERING PATTERN: This class may not be offered every year. It will be offered this year if 5 or more students register for it. Students are advised to take this fact into account when planning their long term schedule.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 932 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

This seminar will explore the Constitutional and statutory law related to Native Americans, Indian reservations, and tribal governments. The seminar will examine the historical foundations of Indian law and the current legal structures that govern the relationship between the United States and tribal nations. Students will spend significant time on issues surrounding tribal sovereignty, traditional cultural practices, self-determination, and social justice. Students will gain an understanding of the basis for modern Indian law and the complex legal issues facing native communities in the United States and abroad. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 920 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied and been accepted to the Consumer Debt Practicum. Consumer Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services staffs the Consumer Debt Practicum in Small Claims Court at the Boston Municipal Court (BMC) Roxbury Division, East Boston Division, Charlestown Division and Chelsea District Court. The practicum provides pro bono representation to low-income defendants in small claims court on credit card collection matters. Students will participate at the BMC Brighton Division on Thursday afternoons from 1-4 pm (or earlier if cases resolve before 4 pm).

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In this course, we will examine the relationship between law, public policy, and current issues in education at both the K-12 and higher ed levels. Major themes will include campus safety and privacy; the right to an equal and quality education (with a focus on desegregation and resegregation); constitutional issues in public schools (including religious considerations and student freedom of expression); and structures of educational governance and various school reforms. Related topics of engagement will likely include policing in schools, ongoing legal battles over race-conscious practices and policies, the unmet needs of English language learners, and the impact of the charter school movement. Course assessment will include a take home examination. Class participation will also factor into final grades.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 777 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

This course examines the law that organizes democratic elections. After discussing the ideas and concepts that have influenced the development of the right to vote and the basic organizing structure of our election systems, we will explore a number of topics, including: (1) the role of political parties, (2) the disenfranchisement of black voters, (3) the passage and operation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, (4) the practice of felon disfranchisement, (5) the problems of racial and partisan gerrymandering, (6) the proper role of the courts, (7) special issues that arise in presidential elections, and (8) recent efforts to unduly influence or subvert elections. Throughout, students will learn to not only identify ongoing problems but also evaluate possible reforms.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 825 OL, Sep 2nd to Dec 4th 2025

Over the last sixty years housing law has evolved in a number of significant ways. Where once a lease was primarily considered to involve a transfer of an interest in land, it is now considered to involve a relationship framed by contract principles. Consistent with this change, tort law involving rental property is moving from a traditional negligence standard to a more complex standard based upon a duty derived from the implied warranty of habitability. Courts must now determine whether landlords should be held strictly liable in tort for personal injury claims based on defective conditions, inadequate security, lead poisoning, etc. Where formerly a landlord had significant discretion over tenant selection and tenancy termination, a variety of state housing laws and federal/state anti-discrimination laws now place significant limits on the landlord's power and control over these tenancy relationships. Public housing and governmentally subsidized housing has generated much heated debate as well as litigation over such issues as development-based policing authority and the right to evict entire families based upon criminal conduct of one family member. Finally, during the past four years complex title, tenancy, consumer rights and community preservation issues have arisen in the wake of the foreclosure crisis that has swept the nation. This seminar will focus on the various legal, social policy, and practical issues emerging with respect to traditional tenancies, premises liability, public safety in public and subsidized housing, housing discrimination, environmental protection, and control of foreclosed property. Student classroom participation and papers are required. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is frequently offered in alternating years. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who waitlist for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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This class will focus chiefly on the crimes for which individuals incur criminal liability directly under contemporary international law. We will cover, in particular, (i) what crimes qualify as international in this sense, general principles of international criminal jurisdiction and immunities, and the historical evolution of the field from its genesis after World War I to Nuremberg to the permanent International Criminal Court established in 2002; (ii) treaty provisions, statutes, and tribunal jurisprudence defining the nature and scope of liability for core international crimes, viz., genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; (iii) modern debates over other, and at times more controversial, international crimes, such as torture and CIDT, as well as the crime of aggression; (iv) the minimal requirements and forms of individual criminal responsibility under international law; and (v) selected special topics, including the principle of legality, head of state immunity, and crimes of sexual violence. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students will be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this seminar after consultation with the instructor. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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Labor law structures the process through which workers organize and engage collectively, rather than individually, with their employers. This course will cover the basics of private sector labor law in the United States. We will study the National Labor Relations Act and the processes of union organizing and collective bargaining that the NLRA establishes. We will also consider historical perspectives on labor law, issues particular to public sector unions, union participation in the political process, the 'right to work,' and the ability of non-unionized workers to engage in concerted action. Finally, through the lens of labor law, the course will tackle issues of statutory interpretation, administrative law, and constitutional law. The materials are not intended to cover the legal rights of individual employees outside of the NLRA. Students interested in in-depth treatment of those topics are encouraged to take Employment Law and/or Employment Discrimination instead of or in addition to this class. To enroll in this class, students must have completed Contract Law, Tort Law, and Constitutional Law.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 851 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

Local governments are considered the closest and most responsive form of government to the people. They are designed to create cities and towns that reflect the ideal of the residents' view of the ideal community. When all local government entities are taken into consideration, there are approximately 89,000 local government units in the country - including counties, municipalities, townships, special districts and school districts. Where do they get their powers? What are the limits? What should be the limits? This course provides a study of the law governing the powers and duties of local governments, mainly municipal corporations such as cities and towns. We look at the sources of municipal powers, the limits on those powers, the relationship between municipalities and the state including the relationship between state and local law, and the formation and expansion of municipalities. An important subject of study involves looking at various models of the relationship between the municipality and the state including home rule. We will also look at some issues in municipal finance and zoning power. Where possible, this course will focus on the intersection of local government law and important current events both locally and nationally. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 800 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

This interdisciplinary seminar offers a deep exploration of large-scale forms of inequality, the social trauma they create, and the possibility of legal and political solutions. A persistent difficulty in American culture and jurisprudence is a refusal to conceive of structural and intergenerational harms against disfavored groups. The goal is to not only find conceptions of equality that might be suitable, but also to reason from injustice to justice. Special attention will be paid to connections between inequality and the political economy. Among the historical episodes to be discussed: Reconstruction as a missed opportunity at transitional justice; the expulsions of Chinese migrants and their families from the West Coast; white riots and other forms of terror visited upon freed persons and their allies; the shame and silence that surrounded the internment of Japanese Americans; the policy of separating migrant children from parents; and periodic roundups of the poor. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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This CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office to enroll. This is the companion academic component for students enrolled in the Pro Bono Scholars Program: Fieldwork course. Students work with a faculty supervisor in designing their own reading list, writing a 15-20 page research paper, and submitting seven 4-6 page bi-weekly journals. COREQUISITE: NY Pro Bono Scholars Program: Fieldwork (JD 743).

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 744 A1, Mar 2nd to May 22nd 2026

This CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office to enroll. Through the Pro Bono Scholars Program, students spend their spring 3L semester working full-time for credit at a government agency or non-profit providing direct legal services to indigent clients. Participating students sit for the February New York bar exam, and begin their fieldwork the week after. Students passing the bar exam and completing other NY bar and BU Law graduation requirements are admitted to the NY bar in late June. NOTE: Students who enroll in this program may count the credits toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: NY Pro Bono Scholars Program: Directed Study (JD 744).

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 743 A1, Mar 2nd to May 22nd 2026

Although formally described as one of three constitutional branches of government, over time American presidents have become especially influential in making constitutional law within their sphere of action, as well as shaping the development of powers and rights in others’ spheres of action. In exposing students to writings from political science, history, law, and sociology, this interdisciplinary seminar has several objectives. First, students will learn how to recognize when conditions are favorable for modern presidents to meaningfully alter the substance of constitutional law, statutory law, and individual rights, along with institutional arrangements within the administrative state. Second, students will explore the social conditions—within bureaucracies and society as a whole—that must prevail for an administration to make legal transformation a priority. Third, students will ponder what constraints exist on presidentially-led projects of major legal change, whether they are effective, and whether new constraints would be wise. Fourth, students will learn how to think more deeply about questions of legality—constitutional and otherwise—given the reality of significant discretion and degree of actual historical change. Grading will be based primarily on three papers of roughly 2,500 words each (60%), as well classroom participation (40%). UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: With the instructor’s permission, a single research paper (6,000 words) can be written in lieu of the short papers to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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Public interest legal practice takes many forms. It can involve government agencies, non-profit organizations, private law firms doing pro bono work, public defender's office, labor unions, and inter-governmental organizations, among others. It can take the form of litigation, transactional work, policy-related work, or legislative advocacy. Also, attorneys adopt varied models of public interest lawyering, including approaches known as community lawyering, cause lawyering, and movement lawyering. This seminar engages through readings, guest speakers, and class discussion to examine the various approaches to public interest lawyering. Students will explore how to define the "public interest" and learn different models for public interest lawyering. Students also will gain familiarity with the different substantive areas of public interest law, organizational settings for public interest practice, and modes of public interest advocacy. Many class sessions will include a guest faculty member or a guest attorney who will present a sample of their public interest work in connection with class themes. There will also be time dedicated to discussing speaker presentations. Students will be required to submit short reaction papers to the readings and presentations and perform an in-class oral presentation based on class themes. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 875 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026