Law Schedule of Classes

NOTE: Course offerings change. Classes offered this semester may not be offered in future semesters.

Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.


225 sec. 001 - Legislation and Statutory Interpretation (Spring 2025)

Instructor: Jonathan S Gould  (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person

Meeting:

TuTh 2:10 PM - 3:25 PM
Location: Law 105
From January 14, 2025
To April 24, 2025

Course Start: January 14, 2025
Course End: April 24, 2025
Class Number: 33032

Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 75
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 110
As of: 12/11 11:25 PM


This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice.

The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and how courts approach agency statutory interpretations.

In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course.

This course will tackle important and challenging questions in the spirit of open inquiry and free exchange of ideas. I welcome a wide range of viewpoints on these questions. Reasonable minds can differ on many of the issues that we will be discussing, and no ideas are immune from scrutiny.

Exam Notes: (F) In-class final exam
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Exam Length: 3 hours
Course Category: Public Law and Policy

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