Administrative Law

CALI Lessons

Administrative Law Primer

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in Chapter 3 of the CALI e-book, Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews basic principles of administrative law, including the nature of agencies, limits on agency authority, procedural requirements for agency action (rulemaking and adjudication), and basic principles of judicial review of agency action.

Adjudicative Rules

The purpose of this lesson is to examine how administrative agencies create "rules," particularly in adjudicative contexts. The goal is to contrast so-called "legislative procedures" with "adjudicative procedures," and then to examine the scope and limits of adjudicative authority. The lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to refine their knowledge.

Commencement of Rulemaking

This lesson focuses on issues related to the commencement of legislative rulemaking proceedings. Accordingly, it focuses on how such proceedings are commenced and by whom. It also focuses on rules that are exempt from rulemaking requirements. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to refine and further their knowledge.

Formal Rulemaking

This lesson introduces you to the so-called "formal" process for making administrative rules and regulations. Under the federal Administrative Procedure Act, there are two separate and distinct processes for making rules: the "informal" process and the "formal" process. In a prior lesson, we examined the informal process. This lesson examines the formal process in greater detail. The lesson is designed for students who have studied these issues in class and who wish to refine their knowledge and understanding of the issues.

Hybrid Rules

In this lesson, we examine the hybrid rulemaking process. In other words, we examine rules that are not created through the formal rulemaking process (as that process is defined in the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA)), or by a strictly informal process (again, as defined by the APA), but by a process that is somewhere between formal and informal processes. The lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class, and who wish to further refine their knowledge.

Informal Rulemaking

This lesson examines the "informal" rulemaking process. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, this type of rulemaking is also called "notice and comment" rulemaking. In this lesson, we examine the procedural steps that an administrative agency must follow in order to create a valid "informal" rule. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to further refine their knowledge.

Judicial Review of Rulemaking

In this lesson, we explore issues relating to judicial review of an agency's issuance of a "legislative" rule -- a rule issued as a result of the federal Administrative Procedure Act's rulemaking procedures. After briefly noting the differences between so-called "formal" and "informal" rulemaking procedures, the lesson examines the standards of review applicable to each type of procedure. Thus, the lesson focuses on the "substantial evidence" test, the "arbitrary and capricious" test, and the requirement of an adequate explanation. The lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and who wish to refine and expand their knowledge.

Hornbooks & Other Study Aids