Popper, McKee Savitz, Varona, and Niles's Administrative Law: A Contemporary Approach, 5th (Interactive Casebook Series)

Administrative Law: A Contemporary Approach, 5th Edition, is a reorganization and updating of the 4th Edition. This book was written as administrative law is becoming the centerpiece in a national discourse on governance.

With twenty or so new Supreme Court cases, countless lower court decisions, and, as of the date of publication of this casebook, 200 new executive orders, administrative law has become the subject of headlines in the press, online, in every political campaign, and more. At first glance, when it comes to the role of the President, Congress, the courts, and of course the agencies, nothing seems settled. In this casebook, we take on those questions and, importantly, honor and include the core of governance that has not changed.

There are many unanswered questions. What is the fate of independent agencies, referred to in executive orders as “so-called independent agencies”? What are the metes and bounds of presidential power—is the “unitary executive” formulation vesting extraordinary power in the White House—or is it a linguistic convenience to justify inordinate and almost limitless power in the Oval Office? Is the “major question doctrine” a genuine substantive doctrine or, like unitary executive, simply a label to justify decisions of the Court inconsistent with precedent?

The 5th Edition provides a comprehensive and apolitical presentation of the doctrine, substance, and promise of administrative law. The text honors and retains the traditional materials that remain and explores the above questions via the best tool we know—caselaw, past and present.

Finally, this is an interactive casebook where students have access to 200 or so multiple choice questions and answers organized by chapter, “blue boxes” that highlight major points, a “recent sightings” box after a number of cases, and a new feature: for new cases where it is as yet unclear where they will fit in, “summary presentations” replete with facts, issues, rules, and pithy quotes.

At bottom, the goal of the authors is simple: deal with the complexities and powerful forces in play through a casebook that is, above all else, highly teachable.