Digital Commons Network^™

Legal Models For Public-Private City Greening Partnerships, Daniel J. Metzger

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Cities are significantly hotter than their surrounding areas. That difference, known as the “urban heat island” effect, is driven in significant part by the dark-colored buildings, sidewalks, roadways, and similar surfaces that dominate urban spaces, absorbing solar energy and later radiating it outward as thermal energy that heats the nearby air. This Comment suggests and describes one avenue through which cities and local community-based organizations (CBOs) could tackle extreme heat: partnering with one another to transform paved surfaces into green or reflective ones. Partnerships of this kind could combine the resources and desire to create green spaces that nongovernmental groups …

Improving Regulatory Notice, Joshua Ulan Galperin, E. Donald Elliott

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Effective notice of law is the cornerstone of any legal system, and yet many federal administrative agencies do not give small businesses, NGOs, and interested citizens notice of the vast amount of new or modified law they produce. They merely publish the text in the Federal Register, which works tolerably well for larger enterprises but not their smaller competitors and citizens' groups. Despite these facts, few scholars have explored how agencies provide notice of the law. Even fewer have proposed ways that agencies could improve the methods they use for giving more effective notice of significant regulatory changes and thereby …

Environmental Bankers: States Are Billing Fossil Fuel Companies For Extreme Weather Disasters, Kelly A. Adam

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

For decades, common law has been the pathway to remediation for environmental tragedies. Victims of traditional environmental harms can pursue justice through legal challenges like nuisance, negligence, and violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). However, climate change–induced natural disasters have led to the normalization of the “Act of God” exception; a policy provision commonly used in insurance law that excludes coverage for damage caused by unforeseeable natural disasters. Even so, real cities suffer the consequences of the real harm, whether insurance accepts it or not; so, who bears the burden of funding the recovery?

Maryland, …

2025 Fall - Clihhr Newsletter, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr)

CLIHHR Newsletters

This Fall 2025 issue of the CLIHHR Newsletter highlights the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights’ continued work in advocacy, research, and education. It features the Institute’s landmark report on Indigenous land rights in the Brazilian Amazon, major events including the 2025 Lemkin Award Ceremony, faculty and student achievements, alumni spotlights, and engagement with international human rights mechanisms. The newsletter reflects CLIHHR’s ongoing commitment to supporting marginalized communities and advancing human rights and atrocity prevention efforts.

Noise Law, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The rumble of traffic, the drone of air conditioners, the blast of construction equipment. These are the mundane sources of noise pollution that we all experience but rarely think about. Or, if we do think about noise pollution, we don't think of it as a central piece of federal environmental law. This Article, however, demonstrates that noise law is, or was, central to American environmental law, and it offers insights into how environmental protection and administrative governance work today.

In the 1970s, during the height of environmental activism and policymaking, lawmakers recognized noise as a serious pollutant alongside issues we …

Portfolio And Appendix Chris M. Larson, Chris M. Larson

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

Abstract:

This is a collection of assignments and reflections of my work throughout the course of the Masters in Social Work program at the University of Montana. Included are assignments reflecting on the Indian Child Welfare Act, housing, barriers to care for Non-White and female veterans within the VA clinic, the quality of care in nursing homes, American Drug policy, confidentiality in the YWCA, training on interventions based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, cost benefit analysis of in home care programs, and a proposal for my practicum site Missoula Aging Services. It has reflections on the five elements of advanced practice, …

Buried Burdens: Contaminated Lands And The Unfinished Business Of The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Yuwen Huyan

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Advocate (Fall 2025), Lewis & Clark Law School

The Advocate

No abstract provided.

Richmond Law Magazine: Autumn 2025

Richmond Law Magazine

Danielle Stokes and the energy discussion

Beyond the page

The mentorship web

Assessing Justice In National Climate Policies: Indicators For Vulnerable Populations, Vagif Alizada

COP30

Throughout the last two decades, various researchers have continuously examined the way that climate justice principles are integrated within national climate policies, paying most attention to the extent of their impact on specifically vulnerable populations. Climate justice, encompassing distributive, procedural, recognition, and restorative dimensions, has become one of the central ideals when it comes to global climate governance. One of the major noticeable challenges faced in this field is the lack of standardised indicators to measure whether policies deliver equitable outcomes, making cross-country comparison and accountability difficult. However, despite increasing regulations and policy commitments, there is a major limitation on …

How Can The Role Of The Judiciary In International Climate Governance Be Formalised To Ensure Accountability And Action When Governmental Political Institutions Fall Short?, Roy Abi Raad

COP30

Conventional Governance Framework have recurrently proved inadequate to tackle the extent and immediacy of environmental concerns as the climate calamity worsens. The judiciary has evolved into a crucial player in the assertion for climate justice because of this governance deficit. Courts can safeguard human rights, interpret international treaties, and hold people accountable for environmental deterioration, function that are acquiring increasing significance important in both developed and developing nations. Nevertheless, they lack institutional mechanism to legally incorporate the judiciary within the international climate governance framework (such as the UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, and Loss and Damage Fund). In order to guarantee accountability, …

Holding Transnational Corporations Accountable For Ecocide And Climate-Related Human Rights Violations, Njengue Cindy Joanne

COP30

The climate emergency and the scale of environmental harm require moving beyond voluntary and overly localized approaches to establish binding legal mechanisms at the global level. Transnational corporations operating in high-impact ecological sectors must be held accountable for their actions — not only to remedy the damage caused, but also to prevent future violations. COP30 in Belém presents a unique opportunity to place legal and institutional accountability at the core of international negotiations. By building on existing instruments, the ethical ambitions of the COP presidency, and strengthened cooperation between states, civil society, and private actors, it is possible to construct …

Ecocide, Justice And Accountability: Legal Pathways Through Cop30, Marina Soares Da Fonsêca

COP30

This paper examines how international legal frameworks can evolve to address environmental destruction caused by companies, specifically through the recognition of ecocide as an international crime. Thus, using the case of Braskem in Brazil as an example, the document exposes the systemic weaknesses in holding companies accountable for ecocidal acts that displace communities and destroy ecosystems. Three strategic recommendations are proposed: the codification of ecocide in the Rome Statute, the creation of a Global Climate Justice Observatory, and the reform of climate finance to include justice-centered mechanisms. These suggestions are discussed in the context of recent developments at COP29, especially …

Empowering Courts For Climate Justice: A Policy Proposal To Enhance Judicial Capacity Through The Paris Agreement Framework, Nourine Gad

COP30

This policy paper asserts that the strengthening of judicial capacity to deal with climate harm, especially ecocide, is urgently needed and that the Paris Agreement can play a huge role in this. Given that climate change has become a more political battle between justice and rights, courts have been playing a major role in holding governments and corporations accountable. Nevertheless, many national judiciaries do not have the instruments, jurisdiction, or the training to successfully adjudicate on complex climate cases. It is then argued that as a case study, Brazil has moved forward on the issue of climate rights through the …

Deep-Sea Mining In The Pacific: Climate Justice, Ecocide, And Security In Nauru And Kiribati, Zeyad El-Sayed

COP30

This policy paper explores how the growing international controversy over deep-sea mining (DSM) can be addressed under the considerations of climate justice, through analyzing two case studies, Nauru and Kiribati, of Pacific islands. Both states are highly vulnerable to climate change and economic instability, yet have adopted different strategies. Nauru has improved and enhanced its DSM plans in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone to ensure its sovereign development rights and economic needs. On the other hand, Kiribati has taken more mechanisms that are cautious measures to temporary pause the DSM negotiations in response to public pressure and environmental concerns. These cases show …

The Formalisation Of The Judiciary In The International Climate Governance Vis-À-Vis A Solution For The Accountability Gap In Political Institutions, Shristi Gautam

COP30

The international governance of climate change has historically been led by political institutions operating under multilateral frameworks, such as the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Under these frameworks, the mitigation ambition and implementation of NDCs remain subject to state discretion, with no binding consequences for non-compliance, creating an enduring enforcement deficit. The paper examines the increasing judicialization of climate governance as a means of addressing this deficit, positioning the judiciary as an active enforcer rather than a passive adjudicator. Drawing on Urgenda v. The Netherlands, Leghari v. Pakistan, Milieudefensie v. Royal Dutch Shell, and the 2025 ICJ Advisory Opinion, the …

Damned If You Do, Dammed If You Don’T: Solutions For The Snake River And The Nez Perce Tribe, Meridian S. Wappett

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Indian Water Rights Settlements And The Animas-La Plata Project: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Dependency, Sidney Paulina Williams

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Reciprocity: Off-Reservation Treaty Hunting Rights, Sarah K. Yarlott

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Damned If You Do, Dammed If You Don’T: Solutions For The Snake River And The Nez Perce Tribe, Meridian S. Wappett

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Indian Water Rights Settlements And The Animas-La Plata Project: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Dependency, Sidney Paulina Williams

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Good Newsletter September 2, 2025, Seattle University School Of Law Dean

GOOD NEWSletter

No abstract provided.

Noise Law, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The rumble of traffic, the drone of air conditioners, the blast of construction equipment. These are the mundane sources of noise pollution that we all experience but rarely think about. Or, if we do think about noise pollution, we don’t think of it as a central piece of federal environmental law. This Article, however, demonstrates that noise law is, or was, central to American environmental law, and it offers insights into how environmental protection and administrative governance work today.

In the 1970s, during the height of environmental activism and policymaking, lawmakers recognized noise as a serious pollutant alongside issues we …

Predisposed: Race, Disability, And Death Investigations, Britney Wilson

Articles & Chapters

Disability, preexisting conditions, or underlying conditions might seem like uncontroversial factors to cite when determining an individual’s cause of death. However, many death investigators have also cited these conditions in deaths caused by state violence or neglect. For example, a 2021 study found that medical examiners cited sickle cell trait, a gene mutation, as a cause or significant factor in the deaths of forty-seven Black people who died in police custody in the past twenty-five years. Sickle cell trait is a relatively common and benign trait disproportionately found in Black people in the United States. It is also distinct from …

The Inevitability Of Local Environmental Law, Keith H. Hirokawa, Cinnamon Carlarne Hirokawa, Lauren A. Vanwagoner

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The United States is entering a new era of environmental law. Within the first few months of President Trump’s second term in office, the administration issued a mass of executive orders, memoranda and policy changes that seek to peel back environmental protections, in many cases, to the point of erasure. The administration shuttered entire agencies, such as USAID, dissolved the Environmental Protection Agency’s research arm, terminated life-saving programs like the National Weather Service’s translation service, cut funding to housing and public health initiatives, and eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the country. Given the reality of these large-scale drawbacks, …

Crisis Convergence, Sarah Medina Camiscoli

Northwestern University Law Review

Progressive jurists and legal scholars have called the Supreme Court’s doctrine of colorblind constitutionalism that dismantled affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard (SFFA) a crisis for constitutional democracy. However, scholars have not yet tended to students, particularly students mobilized for racial justice, to understand their interpretation of this race-evasive ideology and what insights those mobilized students might offer in this pivotal moment. Given the fact that a small coalition of dissenting conservative jurists, scholars, and mobilized students—the Federalist Society—spent decades crafting the doctrine, scholarship, and resources that drive colorblind constitutionalism …

Infrastructure Equality, Deborah N. Archer, Yuvraj Joshi

Northwestern University Law Review

The United States’ racialized geographies have left communities of color with systematically inferior essential infrastructure that perpetuates their social and economic exclusion. From roads, public transportation, and sewage systems, to banks, high-speed internet, and high-quality public schools, people and communities of color have limited access to the fundamental infrastructure necessary to lead socially and economically vibrant lives. This Essay introduces “infrastructure equality” as a unifying framework to address the critical intersection of physical, social, and legal infrastructures that feed racial inequality. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, it argues that infrastructure—the interconnected and vital system of physical structures, networks, and social institutions—should …

Constitutional Futurism As Pedagogy, Jeremiah Chin

Articles

Constitutional Law has transformed from a course on history to a discussion of current events. Cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo reveal that the study of constitutional law is not a static, or even linear, discussion of constitutional text and history. Law is a shifting, changing enterprise that reflects social constructions of power, authority, and identity. How do we teach, learn, and understand constitutional law that is so laden with history, riddled with theories of consistency and adherence to precedent, but ultimately subject …

Navahine V. HawaiʻI Dept. Of Transportation: The Keiki Will Lead Us, Catherine Smith

Seattle University Law Review

The author analyzes the landmark case Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, which culminated in the world’s first constitutional climate settlement. Catherine Smith, serving as an expert for the youth plaintiffs, situates the case within Hawaiʻi’s legal tradition of prioritizing children’s rights and intergenerational equity. She explores the evolution of children’s constitutional protections, contrasting Hawaiʻi’s progressive jurisprudence with the dominant adult-centric legal framework on the mainland. She critiques four recurring analytical missteps in U.S. courts that marginalize children’s interests and highlights Hawaiʻi’s public trust doctrine and cultural values, such as the Aloha Spirit, as models for addressing climate-related harms. …

Constitutional Futurism As Pedagogy, Jeremiah Chin

Seattle University Law Review

Constitutional Law has transformed from a course on history to a discussion of current events. Cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo reveal that the study of constitutional law is not a static, or even linear, discussion of constitutional text and history. Law is a shifting, changing enterprise that reflects social constructions of power, authority, and identity. How do we teach, learn, and understand constitutional law that is so laden with history, riddled with theories of consistency and adherence to precedent, but ultimately subject …