This course surveys the legislative process, fundamentals of statutory interpretation, and the work of administrative agencies, with special emphasis on administrative rule-making process.
This course examines distributed ledger/blockchain technologies and computational law, and the related evolving regulatory environment. Topics covered include cryptocurrency use and regulation, legal forensic analysis of tokens, ethereum-based smart contract governance frameworks, patent strategy, and the professional responsibility considerations when working in a space that is popular, but not well understood. Students will learn about distributed ledger technologies and even get an introduction to programming a decentralized game. No previous programming experience is needed for this course, but a willingness to read and reread and discuss technical documentation and literature is essential. The course will conclude with a final packet of coursework for grading purposes.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
In this course, we explore current topics in artificial intelligence. We first understand methods of data collection, analysis, artificial neural networks, and general software development methodologies. Topics we explore include data manipulation, unconscious bias, algorithmic bias, AI-enabled content generation, and legislative standards aiming for "algorithmic accountability." Assessments include the creation and analysis of machine learning systems, and drafting a short comment to a government agency that is considering adopting an AI system.
This course will help you understand modern environmental law - its genesis, its strengths, and its weaknesses - and how you can use it, and perhaps shape it, in your career. After covering basic principles of constitutional and administrative law as they apply to environmental regulation, the course focuses on the major federal environmental statutes, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. The course uses actual case examples to illustrate major concepts.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
A survey of statutory and common-law claims, including discrimination, wage and hour, OSHA, FMLA, intentional torts, contracts, and workers' compensation; also included are preventative approaches for employers and the use of alternative dispute resolution.
* This course may be offered for 4 hours during some years.
Our economy, livelihoods, and society rest upon natural resources. This course explores the legal and policy norms for owning, managing, and stewarding natural resources such as land, ocean, wildlife, forests, minerals, oil and gas, and our climate. We will also study how the U.S. manages the recreational and spiritual values of our natural resources. The class will use a mix of assessment tools, including in-class exercises and exams over the course of the semester.
This course is a study of the policy and constitutional underpinnings of the U.S. Patent System including consideration of economic justifications; exploration of basic requirements of patentability including patentable subject matter, novelty and non-obviousness; overview of U.S. Patent Office procedures; exploration of patent infringement standards and procedures including claim construction, determination of liability, defenses and remedies; and consideration of the role of patents in business transactions and licensing.
Covers the path from assessment of a tax with the filing of a return, through the audit process, to the various paths available to contest an assessment including the Tax Court and the Federal Court of Claims, then how the IRS goes about collecting the tax once assessed and what defenses are available to taxpayers. If time permits, we will briefly cover the procedures that apply to North Carolina’s Department of Revenue.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
This course will cover a broad range of topics as we survey the landscape of immigration law: Who is a citizen of the United States? Who else can enter and reside lawfully as a permanent resident or on a short-term visa? When can noncitizens be forced to leave? Who has the authority to answer the preceding three questions? Immigration law is a statutory course, focusing on provisions on the Immigration & Nationality Act. We will also cover important cases of constitutional law.
Course description pending.
