PUAD 626: Legal Issues in Public Administration

Legal Issues in Public Administration explores the legal framework for contemporary public administration in the United States. You will master how to manage public sector organizations in a constitutional and legal manner and understand when to consult an attorney before taking legal action. You will also learn the principles of federal constitutional and administrative law that govern public administrators' decisions, actions, and operations.

This course will explain how and why legal requirements must be integrated into general administrative processes, practices, and systems. In the process, you will gain non-technical constitutional competence, which is welcomed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and required by the federal courts. Although the course deals with public management and U.S. law, many of the issues discussed are also pertinent to other political and administrative systems as well as to nonprofit management.

This course was created by distinguished Professor of Public Administration David Rosenbloom; a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow, current member of the editorial boards of about 20 academic journals, and winner of several awards for excellence in teaching and scholarship. Professor Rosenbloom served on the Clinton-Gore Presidential Transition Team for the Office of Personnel Management in 1992.

Professor Rosenbloom was cited by Supreme Court Justices as an authority on the first amendment rights of federal employees in Elrod vs. Burns (1976) and Branti vs. Finkl (1980). His book Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector was ranked the fifth most influential book published in public administration from 1990 to 2010.

Course objectives:

  • Critically reflect on assigned legal cases such as Sherbert vs. Verner and Goldberg vs. Kelly
  • Apply the First and Fourth Amendments, due process, and equal protection rights to administrative problems
  • Learn to manage the administrative law requirements for rule making, adjudication, and transparency as applicable to work-related situations
  • Examine the significance of a real-world case by playing the role of a media reporter or blogger reporting on it through your choice of delivery format (video, article, etc.)

The course will cover the following main subject areas:

  • Become aware that what you don’t know can hurt your agency financially 
  • The courts and public administration: structuring the Fourth Amendment right to privacy 
  • What is equal protection of the law? 
  • Freedom of speech and religious freedom 
  • Procedural due process, the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, outsourcing the Constitution to contractors and collaborators 
  • Dealing with 18th century constitutional designs for federalism and the separation of powers in contemporary America 
  • Judicial review of administrative action and inaction

Learn more today. Call us at 855-725-7614 to speak to an admissions representative or request more information here.