ESSAY 1
Section I: The Administrative State, Courts, and Administrative Law
Essays should be 4-6 double-spaced pages. They should be written using only lectures and reading materials provided on Moodle. Identify the sources for specific facts, concepts, and quotes by simple parenthetical references. Since you are only to use class materials, the instructor should easily be able to identify the source.
For the essays, you cannot “cut and paste”. Use the materials from class only and be sure to provide a simple reference, such as (Powerpoint) or (Library of Congress).
Answer all parts of the chosen question. Demonstrate that you have reviewed and understand any relevant information in that section’s materials.
When useful to the answer, incorporate details such as case names, author’s names, facts, and particularly specific terms or jargon important to that subject.
The essays should be thematic. Sentences should be complete.
TOPIC: Oregon’s Response to the COVID 19 Crisis, and another victim of amnesia
You are special advisor to Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority(OHA). The OHA is the lead agency for Oregon’s public health response to the COVID 19 situation.
Mr. Allen had a sneezing fit and fell down some stairs, injuring his head and causing at least temporary memory loss. State leaders do not want to lose any momentum on the state’s effort to limit the impact of COVID 19 by replacing Mr. Allen
Since you are taking PS 480, the leaders know you are an expert on the legal context of state administration, so they ask you to re-educate him on some basics of his work context.
Construct a lesson for Mr. Allen that addresses the following points.
1) Can the OHA normally do anything it wants in the name of public health?
To answer this, discuss the “hierarchy of law”, and note the significance of an agency’s “enabling” or “organic” act in establishing an agency’s powers and procedures.
2) Can the Trump Administration try to get the economy growing faster by declaring invalid state limitations on public activities, such as Governor Brown’s current “Stay Home” order?
To answer this, consider the legal context of federalism. What powers and rights do the federal and state governments have, and how do they relate to each other?
3) If someone feels that a state agency order that restricts their business violates their rights, what is the typical path of their legal challenge to the agency?
To answer this, note the legal appeals process for those challenging state agency actions, and the relationship between state and federal courts.
4) Identify one aspect of the administrative context that you think the public is particularly ignorant about, and why that may be a problem.