Digital Commons Network^™

The Link January 24, 2023, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Link January 10, 2023, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Link December 6, 2022, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Link November 22, 2022, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Link November 8, 2022, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Link October 25, 2022, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Rising Tides: How The United States Can Be Proactive In Responding To Future Climate Refugees, Elisa Tehero

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Rights? The Manifest Functions Of Truth And Reconciliation Commissions And The Ambivalence Towards Economic, Social, And Cultural Rights, Cosmas Emeziem

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Time Is Now For The Iachr To Address Climate Action As A Human Right: Indigenous Communities Can Lead (Again), Lara C. Diaconu

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Investors As International Law Intermediaries: Using Shareholder Proposals To Enforce Human Rights, Kishanthi Parella

Seattle University Law Review

One of the biggest challenges with international law remains its enforcement. This challenge grows when it comes to enforcing international law norms against corporations and other business organizations. The United Nations Guiding Principles recognizes the “corporate responsibility to respect human rights,” which includes human rights due diligence practices that are adequate for “assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed.” Unfortunately, many corporations around the world are failing to implement adequate human rights due diligence practices in their supply chains. This inattention leads to significant harms for …

The “Green Patent Paradox” And Fair Use: The Intellectual Property Solution To Fight Climate Change, Samuel Cayton

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

As the climate crisis consistently worsens, the United States’ response to the crisis has proven inconsistent. Even with the United States likely to recommit to the Paris Climate Agreement, political tensions will likely further delay a climate response. The polarized characterization of the Green New Deal, the inaction of scientifically misguided conservatives, and the incessant proposal for middle ground approaches lacking the urgency needed to change course all contribute to this delay. While swift action from the federal government is needed, looking to the private sector to transition to sustainability is equally important. Specifically, patent protection is a strong intellectual …

The Clean Air Act: How It Can Be Localized To Promote Both Environmental And Social Justice, Tate Kirk

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

Legislators attempt to achieve intended goals by enacting laws that provide for regulatory enforcement. However, many times laws are unable to achieve their stated goals and in some ways may create new or exacerbate existing issues. Luckily, upon review, many of these issues can be fixed with quick modifications to either their implementation or enforcement mechanisms. In its current form, the Clean Air Act does not effectively account for differences in regional climate patterns, and, moreover, it perpetuates environmental injustice. If local governments were given more autonomy to enforce the Clean Air Act, they could shape its enforcement to more …

U.S. Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, And The Racially Disparate Impacts Of Covid-19, Monika Batra Kashyap

Faculty Articles

This Essay contextualizes the racially disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 in the United States within a framework of settler colonialism in order to broaden the understanding of how structural inequality is produced, imposed, and maintained. A settler colonialism framework recognizes that the United States is a present-day settler colonial society whose laws, institutions and systems of governance continue to reenact the three processes upon which the United States was built—Indigenous elimination, anti-Black racism, and immigrant exploitation. This Essay connects these foundational processes—and their underlying White supremacist logics—to the disparate health impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous, Black, and immigrant of color communities …

Session 3: Virtual Luncheon Session, Student Submissions

SITIE Symposiums

A Working Lunch brainstorming discussion, moderated by Professor Smirniotopoulos, to discuss “What Comes Next?” in the context of Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change.

Registered students in Prof. Smirniotopoulos’s Innovating the Built Environment course will take one-to-two minutes each to present their initial project ideas for their Final Projects in the course, as well as outlining and moderating a discussion of the Challenges and Opportunities presented by their ideas. Symposium participants are encouraged to set up lunch in front of their computers and participate actively in discussing each student’s project idea, providing relevant …

Fighting On Behalf Of The Salish Sea, Cloie M. Chapman

American Indian Law Journal

Despite the wealth of data that suggests climate change will disrupt our ecosystems, key political actors have declined to take action to mitigate the anticipated effects. Further, we have seen deeper investment into the fossil fuel industry, an industry that has been a substantial contributor to climate change. Community-led movements have proven more successful in engaging with these issues on the ground. Creative legal strategies could aid in this movement and allow for strengthened enforcement of rights that are closely dependent on the health of the environment.

The Salish Sea is a body of water that reaches from Western Canada …

􏰀Enough􏰁S Enough􏰂: Protest Law And The Tradition Of Chilling Indigenous Free Speech, Alix H. Bruce

American Indian Law Journal

Indigenous peoples in the United States were not granted the full scope of their rights as citizens under the Constitution until the enactment of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Before that—and after—several state and federal campaigns worked to stifle the civil rights of Indigenous peoples. Many of those unjust and unconstitutional policies were upheld by the Supreme Court. In the current era, the anti-pipeline protests on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota sparked a new recognition of Indigenous resistance under the First Amendment—and vicious state and federal backlash against Indigenous free speech via the …

Nothing Is Over: Ftca Claims For Toxic Torts On Native Lands, Jessica Ditmore

American Indian Law Journal

In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) to curtail the growing problem of disposing of hazardous waste and toxic substances generally. Decades prior, Congress established the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) to hold the federal Government liable for tortious conduct the same way a private citizen would be. The federal government assumed the responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of Native Nations (“NN”). This is commonly referred to the “Trust Doctrine.” This duty stems from the settlement of Native American lands, and a recognition of the treaties entered into by the United States with a “moral [obligation] …

When Protest Is The Disaster: Constitutional Implications Of State And Local Emergency Power, Karen J. Pita Loor

Seattle University Law Review

The President’s use of emergency authority has recently ignited concern among civil rights groups over national executive emergency power. However, state and local emergency authority can also be dangerous and deserves similar attention. This article demonstrates that, just as we watch over the national executive, we must be wary of and check on state and local executives—and their emergency management law enforcement actors—when they react in crisis mode. This paper exposes and critiques state executives’ use of emergency power and emergency management mechanisms to suppress grassroots political activity and suggests avenues to counter that abuse. I choose to focus on …

The Shaw Claim: The Rise And Fall Of Colorblind Jurisprudence, Molly P. Matter

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

State-Level Legislation To Address Global Warming: A Recommendation That Washington Join The Cap And Trade Movement, Monique Saysana

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

This article discusses climate change and the impacts of fossil fuels. In doing so, two approaches are outlined to deal with fossil fuels in Washington: a gas tax and a cap and trade system. There are pros and cons of both systems and a review of recent legislation in Washington. This author recommends a cap and trade system for Washington State.

Food Aid To The Developing World: The Subversive Effects Of Modern-Day Neo-Colonialism, Shreya Ahluwalia

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

The United States has the power and resources to benefit citizens across the world. Many politicians have embodied this goal. Now it is time to move away from this approach. This article exposes the harm surrounding foreign aid from the United States, poses questions related to the foreign policy decisions of the United States and other world powers, and proposes unique solutions through the lens of environmental racism.

The Lawyer: Spring 2019, Seattle University School Of Law

Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Seattle U Law Professor Named A Distinguished Summer Scholar, Seattle University School Of Law

News Center Articles

No abstract provided.

Recasting Intellectual Property In Light Of The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: Toward Knowledge Governance, Margaret Chon

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Tribal Tools & Legal Levers For Halting Fossil Fuel Transport & Exports Through The Pacific Northwest, Mary Christina Wood

American Indian Law Journal

As alarming scientific predictions crystallize into the realities of today’s climate crisis, tribal communities in the Pacific Northwest find themselves on the front lines of a global assault launched by the fossil fuel industry. Encouraged by President Trump’s declaration of intent to unleash $50 trillion of America’s domestic fossil fuels, corporations push for massive expansion of the nation’s fossil fuel infrastructure—even as the world races towards irrevocable climate thresholds. The unprecedented onslaught hinges on the Pacific Northwest as a key link in a global market scheme. The coastal region sits as a proposed industrial gateway for huge export facilities transporting …

The Gm Food Debate: An Evaluation Of The Nationalbioengineered Food Disclosure Standard Andrecommendations For The United States Based On Foodjustice, Courtnee Grego

Seattle University Law Review

This Note aims to identify the food justice issues caused by the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) and make recommendations for the United States to minimize these concerns. The NBFDS requires the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to draft regulations establishing a mandatory disclosure standard for GM food and ultimately, will require a disclosure on the package of any GM food sold in the United States. Part I of the Note provides an overview of the genetically modified (GM) food debate. Part II reviews the NBFDS. Part III explains the food justice implications of GM food production. Part …

August 2016 - August 2017 Case Law On American Indians, Thomas P. Schlosser

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Faculty Scholarship Brochure 2018, Seattle University School Of Law

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

About The Authors

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Sioux's Suits: Global Law And The Dakota Access Pipeline, Stephen Young

American Indian Law Journal

The Sioux Tribe’s lawsuits and protests against the Dakota Access Pipelines (DAPL) received an incredible amount of international attention in ways that many Indigenous peoples’ protests have not. This article argues that attention exists because the Sioux Tribe has been at the epicenter of the Indigenous peoples’ rights movement in international law. Accordingly, they have invoked or claimed international human rights—particularly free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC)— to complicate, and perhaps destabilize, the DAPL’s development. However, the importance of their activism is not merely in claiming human rights.

Based upon a global map of law that involves multiple and overlapping …