Law Commons^™

State Public Nuisance Claims And Climate Change Adaptation, Albert C. Lin, Michael Burger

Pace Environmental Law Review

This Article explores the potential for state public nuisance claims to facilitate adaptation, resource protection, and other climate change responses by coastal communities in California. The California public nuisance actions represent just the latest chapter in efforts to spur responses to climate change and attribute responsibility for climate change through the common law. Part II of this Article describes the California public nuisance lawsuits and situates them in the context of common law actions directed against climate change. Part III considers the preliminary defenses that defendants have raised and could raise in the California public nuisance lawsuits, including the existence …

California Dreaming?, Darren Rosenblum

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Over the past few years, California became the setting for shocking tales of sex inequality and abuse in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Decades after women achieved educational parity. men still run the corporate world. In response to these stories exposed by the #MeToo movement, California joined the transnational corporate board quota movement by converting its voluntary quota into a hard one. Will California's first mover status overcome constitutional objections and inspire other jurisdictions to act. Or is just Utopian dreaming, California-style? This Essay argues that despite its many flaws, the quota may succeed in curbing male over-representation on corporate boards. …

Mommy Dearest: Determining Parental Rights And Enforceability Of Surrogacy Agreements, William J. Giacomo, Angela Dibiasi

Pace Law Review

The governing law in this area is new and evolving and, as such, the allocation of the legal rights and responsibilities depend on which state has jurisdiction over the matter. This article will discuss the basic types of surrogacy agreements and examine the legal distinctions of their enforceability under New York and California law.

Municipal Wildfire Management In California: A Local Response To Global Climate Change, Sameer Ponkshe

Pace Environmental Law Review

This Note will examine the wildfire issue in California within the context of municipal government. Part II-A will present a concise look at the current state of affairs regarding climate change, which demonstrates that because little has changed on the international level regarding emissions reductions, the responsibility of protecting people from the catastrophes associated with climate change will fall to lower levels of government. Part II-B will then discuss how wildfire activity is affected by climate change, with specific attention to how the western U.S. has been affected. Part III of this Note focuses on actions of several different municipalities …

California Climate Law---Model Or Object Lesson?, Daniel A. Farber

Pace Environmental Law Review

In the invitation to this Symposium on Reconceptualizing the Future of Environmental Law, the organizers explained that the Symposium “focuses on the continued expansion of environmental law into distinct areas of the law, requiring an increasingly multidisciplinary approach beyond that of traditional federal regulation.” In short, the question posed is about the future proliferation of environmental measures outside the previous domains of federal environmental statutes.

At the risk of being guilty of local parochialism, I would like to discuss how the future described by the organizers has already arrived in California--both in the sense that a great deal is happening …

The Night Is Dark And Full Of . . . Family Law?: California Law And Marital Presumption In Game Of Thrones, Rebecca Rosen

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The television show Game of Thrones has developed a tremendous following in recent years. The show takes place primarily in the fictional state of Westeros, a feudal society that mirrors many of the legal structures of medieval England. As such, many of the laws and customs of Westeros seem antithetical to the beliefs and values of modern viewers. In an attempt to posit a more just outcome following the death of Westeros’ king (the action which springboards the primary power struggle), this Article applies California law to the disposition of King Robert’s property. Shockingly, this Article finds that California’s marital …

Protecting A Celebrity’S Child From Harassment: Is California’S Amendment Penal Code § 11414 Too Vague To Be Constitutional?, Michelle N. Robinson

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note will describe a brief history of the legal attempts to restrict the paparazzi and the legislative history behind A.B. 3592 and its amendment, S.B. 606. The bills are controversial and have received a significant amount of criticism, due to the fact that they restrict speech by essentially prohibiting paparazzi, known for their harassing behavior, from taking pictures of the children of celebrities. The Note will conclude with an analysis utilizing the void-for-vagueness doctrine of whether the bill is in violation of the First Amendment.

The Quixotic Dilemma, California’S Immutable Culture Of Incarceration, Geri Lynn Green

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Community Property After Hisquierdo V. Hisquierdo, Marie Stefanini Newman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Comment will briefly discuss California's community property system, and the standards traditionally required by the Supreme Court for federal pre-emption of state property law. It will also examine the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Railroad Retirement Act which led the Court to conclude that the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and demanded federal pre-emption in this case. It will discuss the Hisquierdo test for federal pre-emption, which the Supreme Court has since used to override state community property systems. Finally, it will evaluate whether the case was correctly decided.