Law Commons^™

Behavioral Public Choice And The Law, Gary M. Lucas Jr., Slaviša Tasić

Gary M. Lucas Jr.

Behavioral public choice is the study of irrationality among political actors. In this context, irrationality means systematic bias, a deviation from rational expectations, or other departure from economists’ conception of rationality. Behavioral public choice scholars extend the insights of behavioral economics to the political realm and show that irrational behavior is an important source of government failure. This Article makes an original contribution to the legal literature by systematically reviewing the findings of behavioral public choice and explaining their implications for the law and legal institutions. We discuss the various biases and heuristics that lead political actors to support and …

A Framework For Understanding Property Regulation And Land Use Control From A Dynamic Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The law on apparent bias has been mired in some controversy following the High Court decision of Re Shankar Alan s/o Anant Kulkarni, where Sundaresh Menon J.C. seemingly departed from the tentative views of Andrew Phang J.C. (as he then was) in Tang Kin Hwa v. Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board on the issue of whether there were any material differences between the “reasonable suspicion of bias” test and the “real likelihood of bias” test, the two formulations of the test for apparent bias that have been variously adopted by different jurisdictions in the common law world. In Tang Kin …

Agency-Specific Precedents, Robert L. Glicksman, Richard E. Levy

Robert L. Glicksman

As a field of legal study and practice, administrative law rests on the premise that legal principles concerning agency structure, administrative process, and judicial review cut across multiple agencies. In practice, however, judicial precedents addressing the application of administrative law doctrines to a given agency tend to rely most heavily on other cases involving the same agency, and use verbal formulations or doctrinal approaches reflected in those cases. Over time, the doctrine often begins to develop its own unique characteristics when applied to that particular agency. These “agency-specific precedents” deviate from the conventional understanding of the relevant principles as a …

Perceptions Of Fairness In State Administrative Hearings, Chris Mcneil

Christopher B. McNeil, J.D., Ph.D.

A recent study of license suspension hearings suggests that while participants do see central panel adjudications as being fairer, overall there is a profound level of distrust, hopelessness, and anger on the part of those whose licenses are at stake and those who serve in the defense of licensees.

Presidential Control Over The Regulatory Affairs Of Federal Administrative Agencies, Jennifer Allison

Jennifer Allison

This paper outlines the historical exertion of presidential control over the regulatory affairs of federal agencies. It first examines the historical understanding of the constitutionality of examining such control. Then, it describes the two main methods that modern Presidents use to exercise such control: presidential directives and presidential regulatory approval regimes. Finally, it discusses how this has manifested itself during the early days of the Obama administration, exploring the regulatory effects of President Obama's executive order that directed agencies to expand funding programs for research using embryonic stem cells.

Ripe Standing Vines And The Jurisprudential Tasting Of Matured Legal Wines – And Law & Bananas: Property And Public Choice In The Permitting Process, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

From produce to wine, we only consume things when they are ready. The courts are no different. That concept of “readiness” is how courts address cases and controversies as well. Justiciability doctrines, particularly ripeness, have a particularly important role in takings challenges to permitting decisions. The courts largely hold that a single permit denial does not give them enough information to evaluate whether the denial is in violation of law. As a result of this jurisprudential reality, regulators with discretion have an incentive to use their power to extract rents from those that need their permission. Non-justiciability of permit denials …

The Opacity Of Transparency, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster