Law Commons^™

Law On The Half Shell: Applying A Right-To-Farm Framework To Virginia's Aquaculture Industry, Matt Woodward, Andrew Corso

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, states responded to mounting land use conflicts by enacting Right-to-Farm or “RTF” laws. These laws serve to protect farmers and other agricultural producers by shielding their operations from nuisance suits. Virginia’s RTF law has helped to resolve land use conflicts and has helped to protect an agricultural industry that is both culturally and economically vital to the state.

Commercial shellfish activity has also historically proven vital to Virginia’s unique coastal identity and economy. Further, over the last several decades, Virginia’s diverse aquaculture industry has grown, making Virginia one of the leading producers of aquacultural …

Innovating Federalism In The Life Sciences, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

This Article challenges the view that the US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has exclusive Jurisdiction over life sciences innovations. Many current and forthcoming life sciences innovations are "innovative therapies" such as gene editing, gene therapy, and regenerative stem cell treatments, which are actually "hybrids" of state and federal Jurisdiction. Thus, both state and federal Jurisdiction coexist: federal Jurisdiction exists to the extent that these medical innovations use drugs or biologics, but state Jurisdiction exists to the extent that these innovations are procedures regulated by states as the practice of medicine.

This Article argues that the regulation of numerous current …

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Private Leasing Grounds, Nathan Burchard

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

During its 2019 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation related to the private leasing grounds program. In addition to increasing lease application and transfer fees and requiring that VMRC establish a fee structure for lease renewals, the new legislation also expanded the factors for VMRC to consider when approving, renewing, or transferring a lease. In spring 2019, VMRC formed the Aquaculture Management Advisory Committee (AMAC), which will provide ongoing management advisory assistance to VMRC staff and continue to address shellfish management issues addressed by the SNR Work Group. AMAC is comprised of industry, nonprofit, and academic …

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Public Grounds, Geoffrey Grau

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

One potential impediment to the continued growth of the aquaculture industry in Virginia is the current management framework associated with the use of the public Baylor Grounds. Virginia’s constitution provides, in part, that the “natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals in the waters of the Commonwealth shall not be leased, rented, or sold but shall be held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth.” Originally, oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay (the “Bay”) were so plentiful that “oyster reefs rose so high that they grazed the bottoms of boats sailing the Bay.” By the late 19th …

'Neurophobia,' A Reply To Patterson, Peter A. Alces

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Neuroscience Changes More Than You Can Think, Paul S. Davies, Peter A. Alces

Faculty Publications

In this Essay, we consider the contribution of a startling new book, Law & Neuroscience (L&N), by Owen Jones, Jeffrey Schall, and Francis Shen. It is a law school course book (a genre not often the focus of a scholarly review essay) that supports fundamental inquiry into the relationship between emerging neuroscientific insights and doctrinal conceptions in the law. We believe that the book shifts the paradigm and so may profoundly affect the course of normative evaluation of law. In this Essay, we trace and evaluate the “argument” of the book and suggest ways in which its contribution to the …

Human Rights And Genetic Discrimination: Protecting Genomics' Promise For Public Health, Anita Silvers, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Equity Paradigm For Preventing Genetic Discrimination, Anita Silvers, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.