New Practicum Gives Students Experience in Local Government

 

How can a city limit short-term rentals without violating constitutional provisions?  Can a Wyoming city legalize marijuana without running into preemption problems with state and federal law? Is it within the lawful scope of a city's police power to enforce a city’s rental housing ordinance – even if it is to protect health, safety and welfare? 

These are some of the questions students in the College of Law's newest practicum addressed this fall for city and county attorneys in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Through a combination of classroom instruction and work with practicing attorney mentors, students gained perspective on how local governments – cities and counties – operate within a state and federal framework.  

To help kick off the semester, three Wyoming city attorneys joined Professor Sharon Buccino for an afternoon roundtable discussion of what it’s like to practice local government law. Laramie’s City Attorney Robert Southard discussed challenges involved in determining exactly who his client is – the mayor? the council? the city as a whole? Stephanie Boster, City Attorney for Cheyenne, shared how she ended up in the job. Sean Brown drove approximately 275 miles from Gillette, where he is the city attorney, to share some of the joys and challenges he faces in his work.