“Not Reasonably Debatable”: The Problems With Single-Judge Decisions By The Court Of Appeals For Veterans Claims,
2015
George Washington University
“Not Reasonably Debatable”: The Problems With Single-Judge Decisions By The Court Of Appeals For Veterans Claims, James Ridgway
James D. Ridgway
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) has statutory authority—unique among the federal appellate courts—to allow individual judges to decide appeals. As the CAVC completes the first quarter century of operations since its creation, this article examines the court’s use of this authority. Based upon two years of data developed and analyzed by the authors, this article concludes that outcome variance in single-judge decisions is a serious problem at the CAVC. Not only is there a substantial difference in the outcomes of appeals assigned to the different judges, but there are clear examples of decisions that violate the …
Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Reform Of The Toxic Substances Control Act From Canada And The European Union,
2015
Pace University
Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Reform Of The Toxic Substances Control Act From Canada And The European Union, Adam D.K. Abelkop, John D. Graham
Pace Environmental Law Review
The purpose of this Article is to compare the regulatory systems in Canada and the EU, and use comparative insights to draw some lessons that may be of interest to U.S. policy makers engaged in TSCA reform. CEPA and REACH are seen by stakeholders as state of the art in chemicals assessment and management, and thus the U.S. may draw useful insights from them. Indeed, the European Union and Canada have each been urging other countries to join in a globalization of the REACH or Canadian programs, respectively. Regardless of what TSCA reformers choose to learn from the Canadian and …
Western Watersheds Project V. Jewell,
2015
Alexander Blewett III School of at the Law University of Montana
Western Watersheds Project V. Jewell, Hannah S. Cail
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The Idaho District Court granted WWP’s motion for summary judgment and denied those of the BLM and intervener Cattle Associations. WWP alleged the BLM failed to protect sage grouse in some 600 grazing permit decisions issued by the Burley Field Office. The court found the decisions insufficient under NEPA because the BLM did not consider the cumulative impacts of grazing permit renewals on sage grouse.
Underground Environmental Regulations: Regulations Imposed As Mitigation Measures Under Ceqa Violate The California Administrative Procedure Act,
2015
Pacific Legal Foundation
Underground Environmental Regulations: Regulations Imposed As Mitigation Measures Under Ceqa Violate The California Administrative Procedure Act, Jonathan Wood
Jonathan Wood
What happens when an agency adopts a regulation under the California Environmental Quality Act as mitigation for a program’s environmental impact, without complying with the procedural requirements of the California Administrative Procedure Act? According to a recent California Court of Appeal decision – Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Fish and Wildlife – these mitigation measures, which this article refers to as underground environmental regulations, are invalid. This article defends that interpretation and addresses its consequences for agencies and the regulated public. Although these additional procedural protections benefit regulated parties in a variety of ways, they can also burden …
Transatlantic Perspective On Judicial Deference In Administrative Law,
2015
University of Warsaw
Transatlantic Perspective On Judicial Deference In Administrative Law, Maciej Bernatt
Maciej Bernatt
The U.S. concept of judicial deference in administrative law limits the scope of judicial review of administrative agencies’ actions in the light of agencies’ superior expertise and separation of powers arguments. It may serve as an interesting point of reference for the European discussion about adequate institutional balance between administration and courts. The paper analyzes whether there are grounds for the validity of the concept of judicial deference in Continental Europe and in what areas (law, facts or both). As a starting point it is observed that it remains generally accepted in Europe that it is a role of courts …
Rights Of State Prisoners - Federal Court Intervention In State Prison Administration; Jones V. Wittenberg,
2015
The University of Akron
Rights Of State Prisoners - Federal Court Intervention In State Prison Administration; Jones V. Wittenberg, Ronald L. Collins
Akron Law Review
The path to federal court intervention into state prison administration has been a tortuous and rocky one.... Jones v. Wittenberg carries federal court intervention into state prison administration to new lengths. Until more basic and lasting changes are made on the part of society and the states, such intervention seems to be the best chance for ameliorating conditions in our state penal systems.
Evolving Contours Of Immigration Federalism: The Case Of Migrant Children,
2015
University of Baltimore School of Law
Evolving Contours Of Immigration Federalism: The Case Of Migrant Children, Elizabeth Keyes
Elizabeth Keyes
In a unique corner of immigration law, a significant reallocation of power over immigration has been occurring with little fanfare. States play a dramatic immigration gatekeeping role in the process for providing protection to immigrant youth, like many of the Central American children who sought entry to the United States in the 2014 border “surge.” This article closely examines the history of this Special Immigrant Juvenile Status provision, enacted in 1990, which authorized a vital state role in providing access to an immigration benefit. The article traces the series of shifts in allocation of power between the federal government and …
Appeal No. 0897: Ponderosa Consulting Services, V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management,
2015
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Appeal No. 0897: Ponderosa Consulting Services, V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission
Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions
Chief's Order 2014-94
Appeal No. 0864: Frack Free Mahoning, V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management,
2015
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Appeal No. 0864: Frack Free Mahoning, V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission
Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions
Chief's Order 2014-52 (IWC/Ground Tech., Inc. Facility)
Appeal No. 0904: Royalty Enterprises, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management,
2015
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Appeal No. 0904: Royalty Enterprises, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission
Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions
Chief's Order 2015-119; Shah-Shah-Patel #2 Well
Appeal No. 0898: Central, Ohio Oil, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management,
2015
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Appeal No. 0898: Central, Ohio Oil, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission
Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions
Chief's Decision (Application to Operate Facility)
Appeal No. 0891: Green Circle Growers, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management,
2015
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Appeal No. 0891: Green Circle Growers, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission
Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions
Chief's Order 2014-412
Take It To The Limit: The Illegal Regulation Prohibiting The Take Of Any Threatened Species Under The Endangered Species Act,
2015
Pacific Legal Foundation
Take It To The Limit: The Illegal Regulation Prohibiting The Take Of Any Threatened Species Under The Endangered Species Act, Jonathan Wood
Jonathan Wood
The Endangered Species Act forbids the “take” – any activity that adversely affects – any member of an endangered species, but only endangered species. The statute also provides for the listing of threatened species, i.e. species that may become endangered, but protects them only by requiring agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on them. Shortly after the statute was adopted, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service reversed Congress’ policy choice by adopting a regulation that forbids the take of any threatened species. The regulation is not authorized by the Endangered Species Act, but …
The Privacy Dilemma In Digital Arrestee Mug Shots Under The Foia 7(C) And State And Local Policy Recommendations,
2015
SelectedWorks
The Privacy Dilemma In Digital Arrestee Mug Shots Under The Foia 7(C) And State And Local Policy Recommendations, Ahad Syed
Ahad Syed
This Article examines the purpose and interpretation by courts of Freedom of Information Act’s 7(C) Exemption. Specifically, the Article sets out to unravel the current federal circuit court split over Exemption 7(C) by examining its application to the digital privacy dilemma as applied to arrestee photographs, commonly known as “mug shots.” Automated data-scraping programs continuously scour the internet, reaping, replicating, and reposting photographs of arrestees who may or may not have had charges dismissed in order to shame them into paying website owners for removal. While other commentators have argued for state law penalizing pay-to-remove mug shot websites only, this …
Perspectives On Ohio Bingo Regulation: An Historical Analysis And Proposals For Change,
2015
The University of Akron
Perspectives On Ohio Bingo Regulation: An Historical Analysis And Proposals For Change, Patricia Ravenscraft, Elizabeth Reilly
Akron Law Review
"ONE NEED not do extensive research into the historical background of bingo or lottery regulation in the State of Ohio before becoming aware that the current state of confusion in the law is not without precedent. Particularly in the large metropolitan centers, regulating and policing schemes and games of chance have presented a perennial problem.' With the advent of constitutionally authorized charitable bingo in November of 1975,' several legislative regulatory schemes were enacted. Each eventually gave rise to a more serious proliferation of problems in enforcing the legislative limitations. The critical proportions of the bingo problem were reflected in Amended …
Democratizing Startups,
2015
Illinois Institute of Technology
Democratizing Startups, Seth C. Oranburg
Seth C Oranburg
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 intends to “help entrepreneurs raise the capital they need to put Americans back to work and create an economy that’s built to last.” The goal is to “democratize startups” by making capital available to diverse entrepreneurs in new geographies. Yet the net effect of securities regulations and market conditions is the opposite. Startup companies are encouraged to stay private so capital is consolidating in large, mature firms instead of recycling into new startups. Evidence of consolidation is that once-rare “Unicorns” (billion-dollar startups) now number over 111. More money is going into huge …
Deference Lotteries,
2015
Penn State Law
Deference Lotteries, Jud Mathews
Jud Mathews
When should courts defer to agency interpretations of statutes, and what measure of deference should agencies receive? Administrative law recognizes two main deference doctrines — the generous Chevron standard and the stingier Skidmore standard — but Supreme Court case law has not offered a bright-line rule for when each standard applies.Many observers have concluded that courts’ deference practice is an unpredictable muddle. This Article argues that it is really a lottery, in the sense the term is used in expected utility theory. Agencies cannot predict which deference standard a court will apply or with what effect, but they have a …
Strategic Delegation, Discretion, And Deference: Explaining The Comparative Law Of Administrative Review,
2015
Penn State Law
Strategic Delegation, Discretion, And Deference: Explaining The Comparative Law Of Administrative Review, Jud Mathews, Nuno M. Garoupa
Jud Mathews
This paper offers a theory to explain cross-national variation in administrative law doctrines and practices. Administrative law regimes vary along three primary dimensions: the scope of delegation to agencies, agencies’ exercise of discretion, and judicial practices of deference to agencies. Working with a principal-agent framework, we show how cross-national differences in institutions’ capacities and the environments they face encourage the adoption of divergent strategies that lead to a variety of distinct, stable, equilibrium outcomes. We apply our model to explain patterns of administrative law in the United States, Germany, France, and Commonwealth jurisdictions.
High Country Conservation Advocates V. United States Forest Service, 52 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (D. Colo. 2014),
2015
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
High Country Conservation Advocates V. United States Forest Service, 52 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (D. Colo. 2014), Kathryn S. Ore
Public Land & Resources Law Review
High Country Conservation Advocates v. United States Forest Service concerns the United States Forest Service’s and the Bureau of Land Management’s authorizations of on-the-ground mining exploration activities in the Sunset Roadless Area of western Colorado. The United States District Court for the District of Colorado’s holding has far-reaching consequences for federal agencies’ analysis and disclosure of impacts on the climate under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). In addition to bolstering the Plaintiffs’ recent successes at establishing legal standing to challenge federal agencies’ disclosures and analyses of impacts on the climate under NEPA, High Country is the first case to …
Millennial Pivot: Sustainability-Purposed Performance Zoning Guidelines In Urban Commercial Development,
2015
Arizona Summit Law School
Millennial Pivot: Sustainability-Purposed Performance Zoning Guidelines In Urban Commercial Development, Michael Widener
Michael N Widener
This paper argues that economic competitiveness requires cities and towns to reimagine their zoning regulations, leveraging technology advances to address challenges revealed by demands for sustainability in building urban projects. The optimal means to accomplish this is to use performance zoning, a method encouraging creative solutions to problems caused by increasing development densities. Performance zoning consists of a series of standards addressing specific sub-optimal neighborhood or community impacts of commercial development; these standards can be negative or positive expressions of municipal goals for sustainability and environmental justice. Pivoting to performance zoning is desirable because the development community has a firmer …
