Law Commons^™

The Lawlessness Of Sackett V. Epa, William W. Buzbee

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

When the Supreme Court speaks on a disputed statutory interpretation question, its words and edicts undoubtedly are the final judicial word, binding lower courts and the executive branch. Its majority opinions are the law. But the Court’s opinions can nonetheless be assessed for how well they hew to fundamental elements of respect for the rule of law. In particular, law-respecting versus law-neglecting or lawless judicial work by the Court can be assessed in the statutory interpretation, regulatory, and separation of power realms against the following key criteria, which in turn are based on some basic rule of law tenets: analysis …

Fears, Faith, And Facts In Environmental Law, William W. Buzbee

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Environmental law has long been shaped by both the particular nature of environmental harms and by the actors and institutions that cause such harms or can address them. This nation’s environmental statutes remain far from perfect, and a comprehensive law tailored to the challenges of climate change is still elusive. Nonetheless, America’s environmental laws provide lofty, express protective purposes and findings about reasons for their enactment. They also clearly state health and environmental goals, provide tailored criteria for action, and utilize procedures and diverse regulatory tools that reflect nuanced choices.

But the news is far from good. Despite the ambitious …

Jazz Improvisation And The Law: Constrained Choice, Sequence, And Strategic Movement Within Rules, William W. Buzbee

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article argues that a richer understanding of the nature of law is possible through comparative, analogical examination of legal work and the art of jazz improvisation. This exploration illuminates a middle ground between rule of law aspirations emphasizing stability and determinate meanings and contrasting claims that the untenable alternative is pervasive discretionary or politicized law. In both the law and jazz improvisation settings, the work involves constraining rules, others’ unpredictable actions, and strategic choosing with attention to where a collective creation is going. One expects change and creativity in improvisation, but the many analogous characteristics of law illuminate why …

Intended Injury: Transferred Intent And Reliance In Climate Change Fraud, Wes Henricksen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Big Storms, Big Debt, And Biggert-Waters: Navigating Florida's Uncertain Flood Insurance Future, Loren M. Vazquez

Student Works

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) began with good intentions. It was first enacted for the purpose of making flood insurance reasonably affordable while protecting against losses after disasters. However,

Congress failed to accurately update the program in the face of climate change and new coastal development. Because of this oversight, the overall risk associated with the program outgrew the collection of premiums, which led to an enormous debt to be incurred by the federal government. Once changes did finally come, they led to massive increases in insurance rates and a massive public outrage. Residents of states like Florida faced …

Is A Textualist Approach To Statutory Interpretation Pro-Environmentalist?: Why Pragmatic Agency Decisionmaking Is Better Than Judicial Literalism, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Article provides both anecdotal evidence and a more theoretical argument for why textualist statutory interpretation is not the best approach to address environmental. issues.

In Search Of Accountability: The Legislative Re-Invention Of Environmental Law And Policy In Indiana, Robert F. Blomquist

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Economic Analysis Of Trade Measures To Protect The Global Environment, Howard F. Chang

All Faculty Scholarship

In this article, Professor Howard Chang addresses the role of trade restrictions in supporting policies to protect the global environment and proposes a more liberal treatment of these environmental trade measures than that adopted by dispute-settlement panels of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT Secretariat has recommended that countries like the United States rely on "carrots" rather than "sticks" in order to induce the participation of other countries in multilateral environmental agreements. Professor Chang defends the use of sticks on the ground that they encourage more restrained exploitation of the environment pending a multilateral agreement. First, …

Environmental Reforms In Post-Communist Central Europe: From High Hopes To Hard Reality, David Hunter, Margaret Bowman

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Developments In Law - Toxic Waste Litigation, Howard F. Chang

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Of The Resource Conservation And Recovery Act In 1984: The Original Loopholes, The Amendments, And The Political Factors Behind Their Passage, Richard L. Ottinger

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This commentary discusses the nature of the legal loopholes that existed in the original RCRA statute, and highlights several of the provisions of the 1984 RCRA amendments that serve to either rectify or ameliorate the prior deficiencies. It also examines the political factors that affected the passage of the 1984 amendments, enabling them to pass during a period of anti-regulatory emphasis.