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Full-Text Articles in Law

Site-Specific Laws, John Copeland Nagle Dec 2013

Site-Specific Laws, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


The Appearance Of Election Law, John Nagle Dec 2013

The Appearance Of Election Law, John Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The recent attention to election law implies that questions of reapportionment, voting rights, campaign finance, and the counting of votes belong to the same category of legal questions. In each instance, the evolving Supreme Court jurisprudence emphasizes appearances. The appearance of legislative districts, the appearance of corruption, and the appearance of partisanship are just some of the distinct ways in which the Court has concluded that appearance matter. As with other appearances, what looks to some observers like a gerrymandered district or a corrupting contribution is seen by others as a legitimate apportionment or an innocent expression of political support. …


Pornography As Pollution, John Copeland Nagle Nov 2013

Pornography As Pollution, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Severability, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Severability, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

When a court holds a provision of a statute unconstitutional, a question remains regarding the validity of the remainder of the statute. The court may find that the unconstitutional provision may be severed from the statute and leave the remainder of the statute in effect. Alternatively, the court may hold that the unconstitutional provision cannot be severed and invalidate the entire statute. This article argues that the jurisprudence surrounding the issue of severability is confusing and inconsistent. After explaining the concept of severability and its ramifications for statutes, I trace the development of the current judicial test for determining when …


Why Chinese Wildlife Disappears As Cites Spreads, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Why Chinese Wildlife Disappears As Cites Spreads, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Endangered Species Wannabees, John Copeland Nagle Nov 2013

Endangered Species Wannabees, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Corrections Day, John Copeland Nagle Nov 2013

Corrections Day, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

In July 1995, the House of Representatives established a Corrections Day procedure for fixing statutory mistakes. This article traces the history of the corrections day idea, beginning with suggestions offered by Justices Cardozo and Ginsburg many years apart. The article also recounts the early applications of Correction Day by the House. This article describes the problem of statutory mistakes: what they are, and who makes them. It explains that statutory mistakes do exist, regardless of how one defines mistake. Congress, agencies, and the courts all make mistakes, though the responsibility for them ultimately resides with Congress, the author of the …


See The Mojave!, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

See The Mojave!, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

This article examines how the law is being asked to adjudicate disputed sights in the context of the Mojave Desert. The Mojave is the best known and most explored desert in the United States. For many people, though, the Mojave is missing from any list of America’s scenic wonders. The evolution in thinking about the Mojave’s aesthetics takes places in two acts. In the first act, covering the period from the nineteenth century to 1994, what began as a curious voice praising the desert’s scenery developed into a powerful movement that prompted Congress to enact the CDPA. The second act …


How Not To Count Votes, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

How Not To Count Votes, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden by one electoral vote in the presidential election of 1876. In Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876, Roy Morris, Jr. concludes that the election was stolen from Tilden by Republican partisans serving on the canvassing boards in the three Southern states - Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina - that were still under the control of Republican governments backed by the federal army. But in Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist defends the integrity and the actions of the Supreme …


Delaware & Hudson Revisited, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Delaware & Hudson Revisited, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


The Lame Ducks Of Marbury, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Lame Ducks Of Marbury, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The election of 1800 was one of the most contested - and important - in American history. After it became clear that neither President John Adams nor a Federalist majority in Congress had been reelected, they acted during the lame-duck period to preserve their influences far into the future. They did so by appointing John Marshall as Chief Justice, ratifying the Treaty with France, creating numerous new federal judicial positions, and filling many of those positions with friends, family, and Federalists (including William Marbury). Not surprisingly, Jefferson and his supporters protested these actions as contrary to the will of the …


Direct Democracy And Hastily Enacted Statutes, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Direct Democracy And Hastily Enacted Statutes, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


A Twentieth Amendment Parable, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

A Twentieth Amendment Parable, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The twentieth amendment receives virtually no attention in modern American constitutional law. Adopted in 1933, the primary purpose of the amendment was to eliminate lame-duck Congresses. The proponents of the amendment argued that lame-ducks were subject to nefarious influences and that allowing lame-duck legislation contradicted the voice of the people in the most recent election. But the text of the twentieth amendment simply moved the date on which the newly elected President and Congress took office from March to January, and does not expressly prohibit lame-duck legislation. The framers of the amendment could not conceive of Congress meeting during the …


The Recusal Alternative To Campaign Finance Legislation, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Recusal Alternative To Campaign Finance Legislation, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

Typical campaign finance proposals focus on limiting the amount of money that can be contributed to candidates and the amount of money that candidates can spend. This article suggests an alternative proposal that places no restrictions on contributions or spending, but rather targets the corrupting influence of contributions. Under the proposals, legislators would be required to recuse themselves from voting on issues directly affecting contributors. I contend that this proposal would prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption while remedying the first amendment objections to the regulation of money in campaigns.


Green Harms Of Green Projects, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Green Harms Of Green Projects, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

This article describes the recent development of renewable energy to examine environmental law’s three contrasting approaches to the green harms of green projects. Sometimes the law allows the green benefit regardless of the green harm. Sometimes the law prohibits the green harm regardless of the green benefit. And sometimes the law allows a balancing of all of the harms and benefits, green or not. Given these options, I argue that the law should not ignore or understate green harms even if they are caused by green projects. There are some types of green harms that no benefit can justify. But …


Voluntary Campaign Finance Reform, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Voluntary Campaign Finance Reform, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


The Evangelical Debate Over Climate Change, John Copeland Nagle Nov 2013

The Evangelical Debate Over Climate Change, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Discounting China's Cdm Dams, John Copeland Nagle Nov 2013

Discounting China's Cdm Dams, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Cercla, Causation, And Responsibility, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Cercla, Causation, And Responsibility, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


The Spiritual Values Of Wilderness, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Spiritual Values Of Wilderness, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The Wilderness Act of 1964 is the principal legal mechanism for preserving wilderness in the United States. The law now protects over 100 million acres of federal land, half of which is in Alaska. Yet the contested meaning of the term wilderness continues to affect the management of those wilderness areas, and the designation of additional lands as wilderness areas. Much current thinking about wilderness emphasizes the ecological and recreational interests that Congress cited when it enacted the law. These justifications for wilderness preservation are important, but they are incomplete. They are best supplemented by a better understanding of the …


Waiving Sovereign Immunity In An Age Of Clear Statement Rules, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Waiving Sovereign Immunity In An Age Of Clear Statement Rules, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Biodiversity And Mom, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Biodiversity And Mom, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Choosing The Judges Who Choose The President, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Choosing The Judges Who Choose The President, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Moral Nuisances, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Moral Nuisances, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

Nuisance law provides a remedy for activities that substantially interfere with the use and enjoyment of one's land. Most nuisance cases today involve environmental pollution or unwanted noises, sights, or smells. Historically, though, nuisance law had a much broader application that regulated brothels, saloons, and gambling parlors - what I call moral nuisances. I articulate a theory of moral nuisances that applies when (1) a substantial and legally cognizable interference with a landowner's use or enjoyment of his or her land is caused by (2) an action that is regarded as immoral by a reasonable person within the community (3) …


The Missing Chinese Environmental Law Statutory Interpretation Cases, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Missing Chinese Environmental Law Statutory Interpretation Cases, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.


Playing Noah, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

Playing Noah, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The biblical story of Noah and the ark has been cited by numerous writers as a justification for the protections contained in the Endangered Species Act. In that story, Genesis reports that God instructed Noah to save two of every species from the flood that would destroy life on earth, and that after doing so God established a covenant with Noah and the animals that were saved. The story has inspired writers and activists to posit a duty to imitate Noah today when we struggle to provide the resources and the will to protect all species, however popular or obscure, …


How Much Should China Pollute?, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

How Much Should China Pollute?, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The debate concerning how much China should pollute is at the heart of international negotiations regarding climate change and environmental protection more generally. China is the world’s leading polluter and leading emitter of greenhouse gases. It insists that it has a right to emit as much as it wants in the future. China interprets the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” to mean that China has a responsibility to help avoid the harmful consequences associated with climate change, but that its responsibility is different from that imposed on the United States and the rest of the developed world. In fact, …


The Effectiveness Of Biodiversity Law, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Effectiveness Of Biodiversity Law, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has generated a heated debate between those who believe that the law has succeeded and those who believe that the law has failed. The resolution to that debate depends upon whether the law’s stated purposes or some other criteria provide the basis for judging a law’s effectiveness. Meanwhile, since the enactment of the ESA in 1973, biodiversity protection has received growing attention in the nations of southeastern Asia. So far, the law has been much less effective in protecting Asian biodiversity from habitat loss, commercial exploitation, and other threats, yet southeastern Asia’s biodiversity law has …


The Commerce Clause Meets The Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly, John C. Nagle Nov 2013

The Commerce Clause Meets The Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly, John C. Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

Is the Endangered Species Act constitutional? The D.C. Circuit considered that question in National Association of Home Builders v. Babbitt in 1997. More specifically, the case considered whether the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce authorized the ESA's prohibition upon building a large regional hospital in the habitat of an endangered fly that lives only in a small area of southern California. The three judges on the D.C. Circuit approached the question from three different perspectives: the relationship between biodiversity as a whole and interstate commerce, the relationship between the fly and interstate commerce, and the relationship between the hospital …