Understanding Law For Public Administration

What is law? -- Constitutional principles -- Due process, equal protection, and civil rights -- Freedom of speech and religion -- Freedom of information -- Property -- Contracts and companies -- Employment -- Torts -- Criminal law and procedure -- Administrative law and procedure -- Public ethics law -- Civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution -- Managing the lawyer relationship -- Educating yourself about the law.

A new framework for understanding contemporary administrative law, through a comparative analysis of case law from Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and New Zealand. The author argues that the field is structured by four values: individual self-realisation, good administration, electoral legitimacy and decisional autonomy.

Public Administration and Law has been edited for use as a supplement for an undergraduate or MPA level course on administrative law. The selections, all from the pages of Public Administration Review, have been chosen to enlighten and enliven the contents of any standard administrative law textbook. Each of the book's main sections begins with introductory text and discussion questions by the volume editors, Julia Beckett and Heidi Koenig, followed by relevant readings from PAR. The book's contents follow the standard pattern established by the field's major textbooks to facilitate the instructor's ability to assign readings that illuminate lectures and text material. The book concludes with two invaluable resources - a bibliography of 65 years of PAR articles concerning public law, plus a bibliography of law-related articles appearing in other journals published by ASPA.

Cynicism about the law abounds. The legislative process often seems aimless, and individuals regularly suffer injustice in the court system. Despite even the best intentions, the law will be flawed--it is a human endeavor subject to human limitations and differences. But history proves that there is no form of governance better suited to the pursuit of happiness than a rule of law. Studying the law in principle and in practice enables us to honor it when it works and to reform it when it does not. This book is for students and practitioners of public administration and policy and for anyone else who wants to better understand how law relates to the public good. It combines an introduction to basic legal principles with an analysis of instructive cases and practical advice. Relevant opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court as well as other federal and state courts provide insights into how judges interpret the law and define fundamental rights. For this new 2024 edition, all chapters have been updated to reflect changes in the law over the last twelve years. Many of the case references are different, either because of those changes in the law or because teaching the material to hundreds of students inspired new avenues of thought. This book's perspective was formed not only from law study and teaching but also from decades of direct experience giving legal advice, representing clients in disputes, and working with public officials on legal problems and law reform. This experience has revealed serious shortcomings with the legal system. It also has illuminated the importance of taking personal responsibility for doing better. Making the right choices should matter to us all, whether we draw from religious belief, philosophical principles, or scientific knowledge. No one alone can change the world, but our fate depends on the cumulative effect of individual choices.

The third edition of this highly respected textbook introduces students of public administration to the practical issues of administrative law. While useful to law school students, it is most relevant to public management students. The presentation provides a concise foundation to the history and theory of administrative law, rule making, and judicial decisions. The most important issues in administrative law are included--meaningful issues for present and future administrators. A larger number of recent cases and other up-to-date information will be found in the book in order to make the student aware of the kinds of legal problems likely to be encountered in public agencies. One or two cases illustrate each problem at hand, rather than discussing numerous arcane court decisions and technicalities of legal procedure, in order to sketch the broad contours of the present law.

Since the first edition of Public Administration and Law was published in 1983, it has retained its unique status of being the only book in the field of public administration that analyzes how constitutional law regulates and informs the way administrators interact with each other and the public. Examining First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights as they pertain to these encounters, it explains how public administrators must do their jobs and how administrative systems must operate in order to comply with constitutional law. Explores the conflicts between laws The book begins by presenting a historical account of the way constitutional and administrative law have incrementally "retrofitted" public agencies into the nation’s constitutional design. It examines the federal judiciary’s impact on federal administration and the effect of the nation’s myriad environmental laws on public administration. Next, it focuses on the role of the individual as a client and customer of public agencies. In a discussion of the Fourth Amendment, it examines street-level encounters between citizens and law enforcement agents. Responding to the rise of the new public management (NPM), it also adds, for the first time in this edition, a chapter that analyzes the rights of the individual not only as a government employee but also as a government contractor. Enhanced with numerous references The final chapters of the book address issues concerning the rights of inmates in administrative institutions and balancing the need to protect individual rights with the ability of agencies to function effectively. Supplemented with case citations and lists of articles, books, and documents, this text is designed to facilitate further study in a constantly evolving area. About the Authors: David H. Rosenbloom, Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Public Administration in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and Chair Professor of Public Management at City University of Hong Kong. Rosemary O’Leary, Ph.D., J.D. is Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at Syracuse University. Joshua M. Chanin, M.P.A., J.D. is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration and Justice, Law, and Society in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C.