Law Commons^™

Destabilizing Property Conn. L. Rev. 2015 [Rosser].Pdf, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

Poverty Law, Policy And Practice, Juliet Brodie, Clare Pastore, Ezra Rosser, Jeffrey Selbin

Ezra Rosser

The Ambition And Transformative Potential Of Progressive Property, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

The emerging progressive property school celebrates and finds its meaning in the social nature of property. Rejecting the idea that exclusion lies at the core of property law, progressive property scholars call for a reconsideration of the relationships owners and nonowners have with property and with each other. Despite these ambitions, progressive property scholarship has so far largely confined itself to questions of exclusion and access. This Essay argues that such an emphasis glosses over race-related acquisition and distribution problems that pervade American history and property law. The modest structural changes supported by progressive property scholars fail to account for …

Protecting Non-Indians From Harm? The Property Consequences Of Indians, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

This article is an exploration of the assumption, last made by the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, that non-Indian property owners are harmed by Indian acquisition and control of land. Accepting for the moment the Court's prioritization of a non-Indian perspective, the article explores (a) what lies behind non-Indian resistance to Indian land ownership, and (b) whether in fact non-Indians are harmed by proximity to Indian land. The article combines in its analysis core property law concepts with an empirical examination of the changes over time in assessed land value of …

Obligations Of Privilege, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

Little attention is paid to the nature of the high incomes of the rich or to the legal or norm-based obligations the rich owe society. This popular and scholarly inattention reflects the general acceptance of the idea that the rich have earned their high incomes and owe society little. By looking at income equations revealing society's role in high incomes and the obligations of the rich, the Article urges a strengthening of the obligations of the rich and rejects the argument that the legal community ought not consider the moral demands associated with high incomes.

Rural Housing And Code Enforcement: Navigating Between Values And Housing Types, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

This paper focuses on the relationship between rural housing and building codes. The paper covers the relationship between the existing urban based literature on housing conditions and the rural housing situation as well as a theoretical exploration of different ways of understanding value in housing. Finally, two rural case studies - the Navajo Nation and a small Colorado subdivision - illustrate the challenges of rural housing code enforcement and demonstrate how officials could benefit from the model.

The Trade-Off Between Self-Determination And The Trust Doctrine: Tribal Government And The Possibility Of Failure, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

This paper argues that tribes and scholars need to come to grips with the trade-off between trust and self-determination, and that failure to do so-by for example expressing a yearning that the trust doctrine was stronger-will lead to poor choices by tribes. Choices thus need to be based on an understanding of this trade-off and tribes must be aware that exercising self-determination inevitably will lead to a weakening of the trust doctrine over the areas which tribe's assume authority. This point is illustrated using a close analysis of the arguments used by the parties and the Supreme Court's treatment of …

This Land Is My Land, This Land Is Your Land: Markets And Institutions For Economic Development On Native American Reservations, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

This paper presents the current land regime and nature of economic development found on most Native American reservations, drawing predominantly from the Navajo Nation. It then considers the situation according to (1) neo-classical economics and (2) New Institutional Economics (NIE). The paper begins with the paired assumptions that economic growth can and should reach reservations and that the U.S. and tribal governments can improve upon past performance and institutional arrangements. Policy solutions to reservation commercial and light industrial underdevelopment, corresponding to each economic perspective in turn, are then discussed. The paper broadens the range of policy options available to tribes …