Prerequisites: None

Exam Type: One Day Take-Home

Local governments exert tremendous influence over inequality, race relations, environmental health, political power, and housing and real estate. This public law course will investigate the law of these governments (including cities, counties, and special districts) from four vantage points: (1) local governments within the federalist system, including the balance of power between local, state, and federal governments; (2) horizontal questions of power (including interlocal cooperation and competition, and the creation, expansion, and dissolution of local entities); (3) innovative delegations of local authority to achieve state or local public policy goals; and (4) the nature of local democracy and local finance, including citizen influence over local lawmaking and responses to fiscal distress. Discussions and readings in the course will be situated in locations ranging from rural towns to major metropolises across the country. Active participation in the course and a short writing assignment (in addition to the exam) will be required.