ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that supporting the study of regime values as the most appropriate method of integrating the study of ethics into a public administration curriculum. In studying the values of the American people, the student-bureaucrat must distinguish between stable principles and passing whims. The presence of concurring and dissenting opinions in Supreme Court decisions makes the work of the Court dialectic. For our purposes, one of the most useful aspects of Supreme Court decisions is that they are concrete. Supreme Court opinions are pertinent in the sense that they raise questions that are useful for reflection on fundamental values. The chapter exposes Supreme Court opinions, the bureaucrat to many conflicting interpretations of American values. Wherever possible, it considers for some consistency in the values of the American people, and the judicial process with its concern for precedent of some help.
