Digital Commons Network^™

Drones, Henry H. Perritt Jr., Eliot O. Sprague

All Faculty Scholarship

Abstract

Drone technology is evolving rapidly. Microdrones—what the FAA calls “sUAS”—already on the market at the $1,000 level, have the capability to supplement manned helicopters in support of public safety operations, news reporting, and powerline and pipeline patrol, when manned helicopter support is infeasible, untimely, or unsafe.

Larger drones–"machodrones”–are not yet available outside battlefield and counterterrorism spaces. Approximating the size of manned helicopters, but without pilots, or with human pilots being optional, their design is still in its infancy as designers await greater clarity in the regulatory requirements that will drive airworthiness certification.

This article evaluates drone technology and design …

Federal Power, Non-Federal Actors: The Ramifications Of Free Enterprise Fund, Harold J. Krent

All Faculty Scholarship

In Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board the Supreme Court invalidated Congress’s decision to protect members of the Board from at will removal by the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose members in turn are protected from at will removal at the hands of the President. In the Court’s view, the congressional structure – in particular, the double layer of tenure insulation -- undermined the Article II imperative that all exercises of significant executive authority be subject to strong supervision by the President. The Court’s insistence in Free Enterprise Fund on formal presidential control over an inferior executive …

Science, Judgment, And Controversy In Natural Resource Regulation, (With H. Doremus), A. Dan Tarlock

All Faculty Scholarship

Natural resource regulation is heavily "scientized," by which we mean both that the current regulatory structure requires the use of science in a wide range of decisions, and that decisionmakers generally emphasize the role of science in those decisions. Nonetheless, critics on all sides of the political spectrum claim to believe that regulatory decisions remain too political and insufficiently scientific. Administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the Klamath Basin illustrates the challenges of scientifically managing nature. A series of science-based decisions are needed, from species listing to consultation on federal actions. Those decisions carry substantial costs for the …