Disaster Law Commons^™

Collective Coercion, Benjamin Means, Susan S. Kuo

Faculty Publications

When a collective-choice situation places coercive pressure on individual participants, the law’s traditional protection of individual autonomy against coercion must be reconciled with its necessary role in resolving problems of collective action. On the one hand, the law might seek to remove coercion from the equation so that individuals are free to make their own decisions. On the other hand, the law might empower a central authority to decide, thereby solving a problem of collective action in order to maximize the group’s shared interests.

The tension between these two approaches creates deep uncertainty for the regulation of collective-choice situations. It …

Disaster Tradeoffs: The Doubtful Case For Public Necessity, Susan S. Kuo

Faculty Publications

When government takes private property for a public purpose, the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires just compensation. Courts, however, have long recognized an exception to takings law for the destruction of private property when necessary to prevent a public disaster. In those circumstances, unless the state accepts an obligation to pay damages, individuals must bear their own losses. This Article contends that the public necessity defense should be rejected. First, the tight time frame and limited options typical in a disaster response threaten to obscure the crucial role of government in planning for disasters and mitigating vulnerability. Second, …

Bringing In The State: Toward A Constitutional Duty To Protect From Mob Violence, Susan S. Kuo

Faculty Publications

Mob violence can inflict devastating costs. Although typically wrought by private individuals, the incidence of riot as well as extent of riot harm often turn on the adequacy of police preparation and planning. Under the English common law, local governments were responsible for providing riot protection for their denizens. In keeping with the English tradition, early state laws in the United States also provided for communal riot responsibility, and when the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, state obligations in the riot context were well-established. Despite the common law underpinnings of the governmental duty to protect citizens from mob violence, however, …