Courses

Courses

Administrative Law (3 cr.) D/N 647 considers the roles of administrative agencies in the structure of government, constitutional limitations on agency action, and analysis of agency functions; emphasizing informal procedures and placing formal procedures of investigation, rule-making, and hearings in perspective. P: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Constitutional Law (DN620) or permission of instructor.

Advanced Course Related Experience (ACRE) (1-3 cr.) D/N 803 This course allows students to earn academic credit for experiential learning done in conjunction with a classroom course that they have taken, or are taking, for credit. Students work in conjunction with full-time faculty members to design and execute proposals for learning how law and theory learned in the classroom operates outside the classroom. Some projects may present opportunities for collaboration between faculty teaching clinical and classroom courses. ACRE also may be used to provide opportunities for students to assist faculty with pro bono representation of community groups or clients. The ACRE proposal must be approved by the faculty member teaching the classroom course to which the experiential learning opportunity relates, and accepted by the ACRE Administrator. The project must be described at the time of registration on a form approved by the ACRE Administrator (ACRE Proposal Form). Credits are awarded commensurate with hours worked (45 per credit hour) unless a different basis is established beforehand by the supervising faculty member and accepted by the ACRE Administrator. Three credits will only be available in the summer term. Non-graded (S/F) credit is awarded by the supervising faculty member upon satisfactory completion of assigned project.

Advanced Field Research (AFR) (1-3 cr.) D603 Students work outside the classroom under the supervision of a full-time faculty member to conduct factual investigations, interviews, and/or legal research aimed at 1) identifying or advancing potential solutions to a legal or public policy problem or 2) examining the relevance of legal doctrine to a legal or public policy problem. The course emphasizes the deployment of doctrinal learning through experiential projects in the same way that many public interest lawyers respond to policy problems through their work. Projects may include the development of policy papers, draft legislation or regulations, comments on proposed rules, or the production of seminars, workshops, and symposia that convene relevant decision-makers and stakeholders. The project must be described at the time of registration on a form approved by the AFR Administrator (AFR Proposal Form). P: Prior approval of supervising faculty member; completion of registration form (available from Registrar). Experiential and Writing: Depending on the nature of the project and outcomes, this course may be used to fulfill the Law School's experiential and/or writing requirements. Supervising faculty members will make a preliminary assessment regarding a project's potential at the time of registration. A final determination will be made upon project completion and must be confirmed by faculty certification that the requirement(s) have been met.

Agricultural Law and the Environment (2 cr.) D/N 659 A key challenge for the agriculture sector is feeding a growing global population (9.6 billion by 2050) while at the same time reducing environmental impacts and preserving natural resources for future generations. Coupled with the impacts of climate change, international trade, technology, and interest in food processing and production, this is not only one of the most complex areas of law and policy, but also one of the fastest-growing. This course will examine both the impact of agricultural policy on the environment and the influence of environmental law on food and agriculture. Students will examine key federal and state laws and regulations. They will also study the institutions that implement agricultural, environmental, and natural resources policies. Students will explore the scientific context and public policy framework within which these legal standards are designed and implemented. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.

Animals and the Law (2 cr.) D/N 640 explores the historical and evolving legal status of non-human animals. Students will examine cases, arising in a variety of contexts, in which the resolution of the dispute depends upon policy decisions about the nature of non-human animals.

Civil Practice Clinic (3 or 4 cr.) D/N 808 Students represent clients in a variety of civil matters. These include domestic cases, such as dissolution of marriage, custody, support, paternity, and domestic violence; housing controversies; consumer problems; challenges to administrative decisions of state and federal agencies; and a variety of other general civil problems. This clinic is conducted under the supervision of clinical faculty, but students are responsible for all aspects of representation, including presentations in court and administrative hearings. P: Completion of 45 credit hours and completion of or enrollment in Professional Responsibility (DN861).

Clean Air Law (2 cr.) D/N 683 The course will examine in depth the structure and function of federal law regulating air emissions that harm human health and the environment. The course will emphasize the history of air regulation including common law responses to industrial air pollution. It will review the advent of the Clean Air Act as a statutory framework and examine selected regulatory programs under the Act. Students will also review current controversies and areas of regulatory activity, such as the effort to regulate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, which contribute to global climate change. Environmental Law or Administrative Law is strongly recommended.

Climate Change Law and Policy (2 cr.) D/N 700 Global climate change is an urgent issue that requires engagement of the worldwide community at all levels. Lawyers play a critical role in societys response to climate change through participation in legislation, the administrative law arena and litigation. Lawyers are also able to contribute to policy discussions as society considers legal options for mitigation and adaptation. This course will examine the legal responses to global climate change, including international treaties, U.S. federal government policy and regulatory responses, state and local programs for mitigation and adaptation, and common law responses. The course will delve into policy issues inherent in these legal responses and provide an overview of climate change science. Environmental Law or Administrative Law is strongly recommended. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.

Energy, Economics, and the Environment (2 cr.) D/N 700 The course will introduce the structure of US electric power and natural gas industries and the statutory and regulatory frameworks that govern them. The course then explores national economic regulatory policy goals, the historic evolution of energy markets, and the key enabling statutes for utility regulatory agencies (federal and state). Special focus is paid to regulatory orders from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the judicial review of agency actions, and current issues in international energy law.

Environmental and Toxic Tort Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 611 covers tort actions used to provide redress for injury caused by toxic substances and dangerous environmental conditions. Topics may include trespass, nuisance, strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, product liability, federal preemption, and special problems in causation. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.

Environmental Justice (3 cr.) D/N 681 represents a critical issue in domestic and international environmental policy and law. Students will examine historical and contemporary “environmental justice” issues raised by communities and the legal avenues available to address those claims. They will gain an appreciation of the competing societal interests at stake in environmental decision-making and the relationship of the civil rights movement in United States history to the birth of the environmental justice movement. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.

Environmental Law (3 or 4 cr.) D/N 891 introduces students to many of the major concepts and statutes in federal environmental law. Laws covered may include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, CERCLA/Superfund, and the Solid Waste Disposal Act/RCRA. Additional topics may include cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, ecosystem services and valuing the environment, and statutory interpretation.

Food and Drug Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 888 surveys statutes and regulations dealing with the production, distribution, and sale of food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. The course focuses primarily on substantive and procedural requirements of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.

International Environmental Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 754 examines how international law and legal institutions are responding to transboundary and global environmental challenges. Students review prominent issues such as climate change, water scarcity, deforestation, biodiversity loss, ozone depletion, mineral extraction, and marine resource threats, in the context of international development and transboundary trade. Students then analyze selected issues in depth, looking at the science and law of specific environmental challenges as well as the political, economic, and cultural context within which solutions must be formulated.

Land Use (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 740 covers theoretical and practical problems of private and public controls on use, development, and distribution of land, nuisance, planning and subdivision controls, zoning, building codes, and environmental and aesthetic regulations.

Moot Court (1 cr.) D/N 750 These competitions are open to members of the Order of Barristers or to other students at the discretion of the Moot Court Advisor. National competition teams include students who coach the teams and students who prepare briefs and present oral arguments in regional and national rounds of the competitions against teams from other law schools. National Moot Court competitions do not satisfy the experiential learning requirement.

Natural Resources Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 717 covers the law and policy of natural resources regulation, focusing on the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and laws concerning water and timber use and protection; energy-related resource issues other than oil and gas; and land-use planning issues.

Oil and Gas Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 716 examines the law associated with oil and gas as well as the rights and responsibilities of relevant parties throughout the production process, including the origin and production of oil, gas and minerals; the nature and protection of interests in oil and gas; the oil and gas lease and important provisions; covenants implied in oil and gas leases; title and conveyance problems (transfers by fee owners and lessors); and pooling and unitization agreements.

Program on Law and State Government Externship Course (2-4 cr.) D802 Externship students learn about the practice of law with a combination of legal externship placement at one of over 60 law offices and agencies within the executive and legislative branches of Indiana's state government and discussion based class meetings. The class meetings explore topics such as public records laws, ethical considerations for the public lawyer, rulemaking and the administrative process, federalism and state sovereignty, state supported speech, and state budgeting issues. Two or three (students choose between a 2 credit or 3 credit externship) of the externships credits are graded S/F, based upon satisfaction of externship requirements, with the remaining credit carrying a course grade based upon performance in the classroom component of the course.) (Application Link | More info: PLSG web site)

Real Estate Transfer, Finance, and Development (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 605 introduces fundamentals of land transfer, finance, and development. Topics include the perfection and priority of mortgages and liens on real property, and the role of brokers, lawyers, and other participants in real estate transactions.

Seminar in Public Utilities Regulation (2 cr.) D/N 858 Concepts of state and federal utility regulation are addressed in this seminar. It also considers current regulatory problems, such as restriction of entry, market requirements, mergers and market structures, and rate making practices and procedures.

Supervised Research (1 to 4 cr.) D/N 661 requires the student to write an in-depth and comprehensive research paper on a current legal problem. Generally, the finished paper should be 8,500 words inclusive of footnotes or endnotes for each hour of credit. The supervising faculty member is the final judge of both quality and length. P: Permission of instructor, completed Enrollment Request Form.

Water Law (2 or 3 cr.) D/N 882 course examines international and national problems relating to the scarcity, allocation, management, and protection of water. Topics covered include riparian and prior appropriation doctrines, competing public and private interests, groundwater doctrines and management, federal control of water development and quality, and the allocation and conservation of transboundary and interstate waters. This course may be listed either synchronously or asynchronously online.