This is a really exciting time to be studying administrative law, and the recent papers added to SSRN only underscore that. Here is the September 2019 Edition of the most-downloaded recent papers (those announced in the last 60 days) from SSRN’s U.S. Administrative Law eJournal, which is edited by Bill Funk.

1. The Judicial Demand for Explainable Artificial Intelligence by Ashley Deeks (Columbia Law Review forthcoming) [CJW Note: This is a fascinating essay by one of my favorite scholars that argues judges should demand explanations for machine learning algorithms introduced in court. Her argument obviously applies beyond administrative law, but I particularly enjoyed Part II of the essay that focuses on agency rulemaking and adjudication.]
2. Administrative National Security by Elena Chachko (Georgetown Law Journal forthcoming) [CJW Note: Chackho is a new and exciting voice who writes at the intersection of administrative law and national security. I had the privilege of reading an earlier draft of this paper when she presented it at the Fourth Annual Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable at U Wisconsin this summer.]
3. Administrative Constitutionalism at the ‘Borders of Belonging’: Drawing on History to Expand the Archive and Change the Lens by Karen Tani (University of Pennsylvania Law Review forthcoming) [CJW Note: Tani’s work is so much fun to read, and this essay is no exception. In her contribution to a symposium on administrative constitutionalism, Tani explores the contributions historians have made to our understanding of the subject.]
4. Constraint Through Independence by Daniel B. Listwa & Lydia K. Fuller (Yale Law Journal forthcoming) [CJW Note: Wow, this looks like an incredible student note! The authors leverage an empirical study to argue that independent administrative law judges are essential to the anti-administravist agenda because they plant the “red flags” in the administrative record to protect the regulated from the regulator.]
5. Outside Advisers Inside Agencies by Brian D. Feinstein & Daniel Jacob Hemel (Georgetown Law Journal forthcoming) [CJW Note: I’ve been waiting for a draft of this empirical study of agency advisory committees to be made public. So many cool findings about the role of advisory committees across administrations.]
6. Bias in Regulatory Administration by Daniel B. Rodriguez [CJW Note: This is a deep and provocative dive into the role neutrality plays in our administrative state, both at the doctrinal and theoretical level.]
7. Enabling Adaptive Governance: Defining the Role of Government in New Governance by Barbara A. Cosens, J. B. Ruhl & Niko Soininen (Vanderbilt Law Review forthcoming) [CJW Note: Ruhl and company explore the rise of adaptive governance in the regulatory landscape; definitely adding to my reading list.]
8. This is What Democracy Looks Like: Title IX and the Legitimacy of the Administrative State by Samuel R. Bagenstos (Michigan Law Review forthcoming) [CJW Note: This is a critical review of R. Shep Melnick’s new book on Title IX and a defense of the democracy-enhancing role of the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights in implementing Title IX.]
9. Agency Legislative Fixes by Leigh Osofsky (Iowa Law Review forthcoming) [CJW Note: This is a fascinating look at how federal agencies attempt to fix legislative drafting errors–a practice Osofsky criticizes.]
10. Some Puzzles of State Standing by Tara Leigh Grove (94 Notre Dame Law Review 1883 (2019)) [CJW Note: This is Grove’s introduction to the law review’s annual federal courts issue, this one on state standing. The full symposium is here.]

For more on why SSRN and this eJournal are such terrific resources for administrative law scholars and practitioners, check out my first post on the subject here. You can check out the full rankings, updated daily, here.

Thanks to my terrific research assistant Sam Lioi for helping put together this monthly post. I’ll report back at the start of November with the next edition.