This basic 3 hour course in Administrative Law seeks to provide exposure in some depth to the fundamental principles of Administrative Law. It will use a traditional casebook, focused on federal administrative law - where the core principles have been most fully developed. The course will also examine how those principles have been applied in the context of state administrative law, seen through the lens of New Mexico administrative law and practice.
The course will be taught in three fundamental blocks dealing with:
the nature and purpose of administrative agencies, including their statutory mandates, the non-delegation doctrine, and methods of executive, legislative and judicial oversight;
the essential functions of administrative agencies, including various methods of policy formulation, the exercise of adjudicatory power, the exercise of rule-making power, the enforcement of administrative decisions, and the processes of licensing; and
indirect controls on administrative agencies via freedom of information laws and legal requirements making administrative processes open to public scrutiny.