State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Texas Fetal Rights: Is There A Future For The Rights Of Future Texans., S. Jeffrey Gately

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Texas, contrary interpretations, whether a fetus is a person or non-person, create unpredictable and irreconcilable outcomes. The author contrasts the differences found in Texas law regarding the rights of unborn children in the areas of property, family, criminal, and tort law. At conception, a fetus enjoys property rights. However, under the auspices of family law, a mother may not collect child support until birth but may seek contribution for prenatal care prior to birth. Criminal protection of a fetus is unavailable in Texas unless the fetus is born alive. If criminal activity results in still birth or fetal destruction, …

Tdhs V. E.B., The Coup De Grace For Special Issues., John J. Sampson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Although the bench and bar have been recalcitrant in recognition, the Texas Supreme Court has declared the special interest experiment a failure. For nearly eighty years Texas has engaged in an experiment requiring juries answer specific, factually detailed inquiries in various circumstances. The theoretical justifications of special issue inquiries were to ease appeals processes and add clarity to jury decisions. Although the goals were meritorious, the actual result was jury confusion, inefficiency, complexity, and too many retrials. The Texas Supreme Court’s ruling in TDHS v. EB signals the end of special issues and mandates the use of broad form submissions. …

Child Support For Adult Disabled Children: New Texas Legislation., Dan R. Price

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1989, the Texas legislature modified the Texas Family Code by relaxing the criteria necessary to allow awards of support to adult disabled children. Texas has historically recognized, through both state and case law, that parents have both a moral and legal obligation to support minor unemancipated children, but only until the age of majority. An exception to the limitation of parental support only until the age of majority is the “disability exception.” Many jurisdictions recognize that when a minor child suffers from a disability and is incapable or unable to take care of themselves, parental support may extend past …

Reformers' Regress: The 1991 Texas Workers' Compensation Act., Jill Williford

St. Mary's Law Journal

The revision of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act will affect most Texas taxpayers and workers. The Act, entering into force January 1, 1991, significantly restructures the preexisting seventy-six-year-old system. Before the advent of workers’ compensation systems employees relied on the court and common-law causes of action as the sole means of recovery. In 1913, Texas enacted one of the first versions of workers’ compensation in the United States. The original act created a system to compensate workers for injuries sustained during employment without regard to fault. Initially the act was elective for employers and mandatory for employees but was later …

Applying Edgewood V. Kirby To Analysis Of Fundamental Rights Under The Texas Constitution., Albert H. Kauffman, Carmen Maria Rumbaut

St. Mary's Law Journal

State constitutions are affirmative grants of power under which both stated and implied fundamental rights can be sought. A proposed test for fundamental rights under the Texas Constitution looks at three factors: the history of the topic within the Texas Constitution and case law; the actual language used in the controlling provision; and the importance of that value to the people of Texas. The declaration of a constitutional right as fundamental certainly has implications for future relationships between the people and the government.

The Edgewood v. Kirby case has the potential to change much in Texas. The case stands for …

Agenda: Boundaries And Water: Allocation And Use Of A Shared Resource, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Boundaries and Water: Allocation and Use of a Shared Resource (Summer Conference, June 5-7)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Boundaries and Water: Allocation and Use of a Shared Resource is the topic of the Center's annual summer program on water this June. Most of the major rivers in the western United States are shared between two or more states. Often tribal governments play an important role in water allocation and use decisions. International considerations also may be involved in some cases. These interjurisdictional issues extend to groundwater as well as surface water.

This conference will provide the …

A Proposal To Protect Injured Workers From Employers' Shield Of Immunity., Catherine A. Hale

St. Mary's Law Journal

The current workers’ compensation system shields negligent employers from liability and fails to encourage compliance with safety standards. A practical solution is to broaden the judicial definition of intentional conduct and reinstate a common-law negligence action in workers’ compensation statutes. The Texas Workers’ Compensation Act awards compensation to employees for accidental injuries sustained in the course of employment. The Act bars an employee who accepts these benefits from bringing a common-law suit for damages against the employer. The exclusive nature of the workers’ compensation remedy thus leaves employers immune from common-law negligence actions by employees who accept the plan. An …

Scources Of Liberty In The Texas Bill Of Rights., Arvel (Rod) Ponton Iii

St. Mary's Law Journal

Many historical, economic, and philosophical forces have combined to create a uniquely “Texian” perspective on liberty that has heavily influenced the Texas Bill of Rights. The original Texas Bill of Rights was drafted in 1836, during the ascendancy of Jacksonian democracy, following the successful revolt from the military dictatorship of General Santa Anna. Texans had lived under Spanish civil law, Mexican constitutional law, a Mexican military dictatorship, English common law, and the Bill of Rights of the United States. The Texas Revolution, the fact that many Texans looked to American and English jurisprudence for guidance, the violation of many rights …

Grizzly Bears, Politics And The Language Of Efficiency, Donald R. Snow

The Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning, Law, and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

13 pages.

State Water Planning To Protect Public Needs, David H. Getches

Water as a Public Resource: Emerging Rights and Obligations (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

44 pages.

Financing Water Projects: Where Do We Go From Here?, Henry P. Caulfield, Jr.

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

16 pages.

Interstate Transfers Of Water: Opportunities And Obstables [Sic], A. Dan Tarlock

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

34 pages.

The Prior Appropriation System In Western Water Law: The Law Viewed Through The Example Of The Rio Grande Basin, James N. Corbridge Jr., Charles F. Wilkinson

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

17 pages.

Contains references.

Agenda: Western Water Law In Transition, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors James N. Corbridge, Jr., Lawrence J. MacDonnell, Richard B. Collins, David H. Getches and Charles F. Wilkinson.

The prior appropriation doctrine has governed the allocation and use of water in the western United States since the 1850s. The shifting nature of water demand is bringing about changes in the traditional legal system. This conference will consider the fundamental principles of the prior appropriation doctrine together with the important new developments in the law now underway throughout the West.

Determining Mineral Ownership In Texas After Moser V. United States Steel Corp. - The Surface Destruction Nightmare Continues., David A. Scott

St. Mary's Law Journal

Total abandonment of the surface destruction test is essential for achieving mineral title certainty in Texas. Many instruments which grant or reserve mineral rights in Texas contain the words “other minerals.” When the instrument does not specifically list which substances the contracting parties include as minerals, a dispute often arises as to ownership of the unspecified substances. To resolve ownership disputes, Texas courts adopted the surface destruction test. This test focuses on the destructive effects removal of a particular substance would have on the surface of the land. Unfortunately, the surface destruction test yielded unpredictable results, causing uncertainty in mineral …

Wetlands Preservation And The Protection Of Endangered Species As Limits On Western Water Development, A. Dan Tarlock

The Federal Impact on State Water Rights (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

25 pages.

Ogallala Ground Water, Morton W. Bittinger

Groundwater: Allocation, Development and Pollution (Summer Conference, June 6-9)

12 pages.

Agenda: Groundwater: Allocation, Development And Pollution, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Groundwater: Allocation, Development and Pollution (Summer Conference, June 6-9)

Even before the [Natural Resources Law] Center was established [in the fall of 1981], the [University of Colorado] School of Law was organizing annual natural resources law summer short courses. To date four programs have been presented:

- July 1980: "Federal Lands, Laws and Policies-and the Development of Natural Resources"

- June 1981: "Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues"

- June 1982: "New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: lnterbasin Transfers"

- June 1983: "Groundwater: Allocation; Development and Pollution"

(Reprinted from Resource Law Notes, no. 1, Jan. 1984, at 1.)

University of Colorado School of Law professors …

Water Problems & Issues Affecting United States-Mexico Relations: Policy Options & Alternatives, Albert E. Utton

New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: Interbasin Transfers: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 7-10)

42 pages.

Contains 6 pages of endnotes.

Constitutional Restraints On Protecting State Interests In Water Rights, Charles E. Corker

New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: Interbasin Transfers: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 7-10)

33 pages.

Contains references.

A Century And A Half Of Interbasin Diversions Or 100 Years Since Coffin V. Left Hand Ditch Co., Ralph W. Johnson

New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: Interbasin Transfers: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 7-10)

19 pages.

Contains references.

Interbasin Transfer Economics: The High Plains Region, Allen Kneese

New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: Interbasin Transfers: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 7-10)

44 pages (includes 1 map).

Land Subsidence And Ground-Water Pumping: Outline, Thomas L. Holzer

Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

10 pages.

Contains research sources.

Development Of The Appropriation Doctrine: Outline, Charles F. Wilkinson

Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

11 pages.

Contains references.

Ground Water Mining, Water Transfers And The Ogallala Aquifer Study, J. David Aiken

Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

10 pages.

Contains references.

Federal Nonreserved Water Rights, Frank J. Trelease

Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

5 pages.