Digital Commons Network^™

Coalbed Methane: Crafting A Right To Sell From An Obligation To Vent, L. James Lyman

University of Colorado Law Review

Coalbed methane ("CBM") is a rapidly growing source of energy in the United States, particularly in the Intermountain West. Rather than being captured and utilized, however, much of the recoverable CBM is released into the atmosphere as coal mine methane ("CMM), a byproduct of coal mining. Allowing a federal coal operator to capture and sell or otherwise consume CMM would reduce greenhouse emissions, provide additional fuel for power generation, and avoid the waste of valuable natural resources. However, there is sparse guidance from the federal government regarding the right of federal coal operators to engage in CMM sale. What little …

What Is Natural Resources Law?, Robert L. Fischman

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keeping An Eye On The Golden Snitch: Implications Of The Interdisciplinary Approach In The Fourth Generation Of Natural Resources Law Casebooks, Sarah Krakoff

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discovering Discovery: Non-Party Access To Pretrial Information In The Federal Courts, 1938-2006, Seymour Moskowitz

University of Colorado Law Review

In the modern era, the pretrial process is critical to the disposition of almost all litigation. The vast majority of cases never go to trial. Those which are contested at trial and upon appeal are often decided upon the results of the information gather before trial. This is true in both private litigation and in public interest cases where "private attorneys general" may only function effectively with courtenforced discovery. Despite the significance of the Article III courts to our society, transparency in their processes for resolving civil disputes has been severely compromised. Threats to openness emanate from multiple sources. This …

Colorado Hb 1061 And Advocating For The End Of Caveat Emptor In Residential Leases, David I. Blower

University of Colorado Law Review

In 2005, Governor Bill Owens vetoed House Bill 1061, which was an attempt by the Colorado legislature to enact some minimal protections for residential tenants. Governor Owens's veto was the latest chapter in Colorado's failure to provide residential-tenant protections. Although the vast majority of states have either judicially-implied or statutory tenant protections, Colorado has bucked the trend. First, in 1976, the Colorado Supreme Court refused to imply a warranty of habitability in residential leases, instead deferring to the legislature. Since then, in addition to Governor Owens's veto, the legislature has also failed to pass a residential warranty. Instead of maintaining …

Local Decisions, National Impact: Why The Public School Textbook Selection Process Should Be Viewpoint Neutral, Rebecca Tanglen

University of Colorado Law Review

In its decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court determined that in the public school context, government restriction on speech must be related to "legitimate pedagogical concerns." However, the question remains open whether that standard requires such restrictions to be viewpoint neutral; the circuit courts are split on this question. This Comment explores the issue in the context of the public school textbook selection process, concluding that the process should be viewpoint neutral. As an initial matter, it argues that the selection of textbooks for use in the public schools should be analyzed under the public forum …

Arrested Development: An Alternative To Juveniles Serving Life Without Parole In Colorado, Gail B. Goodman

University of Colorado Law Review

More than 100 years ago, reformers established a separate juvenile court system meant to protect and rehabilitate delinquent children. However, several U.S. Supreme Court cases in the 1960s and 1970s slowly eroded the special features that distinguished the juvenile court from the criminal court. In addition, newly enacted legislation has facilitated the transfer of juvenile cases to the adult system. As a result, more juveniles are being tried in adult courts and the goals furthered by the juvenile court system are being ignored. Recent Supreme Court decisions and studies regarding adolescent brain development indicate that the current system for treating …

The Rise Of The Organizational Practice Of Child Welfare Law: The Child Welfare Law Office, Leslie Starr Heimov, Amanda George Donnelly, Marvin Ventrell

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Child Welfare Law Office Guidebook: Best Practice Guidelines For Organizational Legal Representation Of Children In Abuse, Neglect, And Dependency Cases, Colene Flynn Robinson

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Colorado Constitution In The New Century, Richard B. Collins

University of Colorado Law Review

TABOR, gay marriage, pit bulls, guns, redistricting, ethics in government, school vouchers, and minimum wage have been on Colorado's constitutional agenda for the past seven years. Dale Oesterle and I authored a book-length study of the Colorado Constitution through 2001.1 This article reviews amendments and judicial decisions arising since. It should surprise no one that TABOR has generated by far the most decisions.

Ennobling Direct Democracy, Sherman J. Clark

University of Colorado Law Review

In this essay, Professor Clark argues that we should be attentive to the effect that direct democracy might have on our public character. Building upon earlier work, Clark suggests that the initiative in particular threatens to debase us by undercutting a crucial character trait which might best be called "responsibility-taking." The bulk of this essay is devoted to explaining what this means, and why it matters. Why should we care about the effect of political processes on public character? Why is this particular trait important and worth preserving? How is it threatened by direct democracy? In conclusion, and by way …

Representation And The Spatial Bias Of Direct Democracy, Daniel A. Smith

University of Colorado Law Review

Daniel Smith analyzes whether direct democracy favors urban and suburban voters' interests at the expense of rural voters' interests. After reviewing existing academic literature on the (sub)urban rural divide in direct democracy contests, the author performs an empirical analysis of county-level voting data on numerous recent Colorado ballot initiatives. The author concludes that there is a significant regional bias concerning popular votes on ballot initiatives, and that rural communities of interest will likely continue to be tyrannized by (sub)urban majorities in statewide ballot contests

When Good Voters Make Bad Policies: Assessing And Improving The Deliberative Quality Of Initiative Elections, John Gastil, Justin Reedy, Chris Wells

University of Colorado Law Review

A majority of United States citizens reside in states that allow voters to directly decide questions of public policy through an initiative or referendum process. Although originally instituted as a check on elitist legislatures, the initiative process has generated its own set of electoral problems. Voters may find themselves under informed or confused about complex public policy issues, while interest groups attempt to manipulate the public with misinformation campaigns. In an examination of research findings from a 2006 statewide poll of likely voters in Washington, this article explores public perceptions, misperceptions and choices in initiative and referendum elections. The authors …

The Citizen Assembly: An Alternative To The Initiative, Kevin O'Leary

University of Colorado Law Review

The Citizen Assembly is a superior alternative to direct mass democracy and the initiative. Building on the ideas of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, it is possible to combine the traditional town hall and the Internet to fashion a new understanding of representative government that bridges the enormous gap that now exists between the political elite and the average voter. The assembly reform would increase opportunities for meaningful and intelligent participation by average citizens and improve public decisions. This article explains how a national network of citizen assemblies would work.

Remarks At The Climate Of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock Conference At The University Of Colorado Law School, March 16-17, 2007, Congressman Mike Udall

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And The Poorest Nations: Further Reflections On Global Inequality, Ruth Gordon

University of Colorado Law Review

This article considers climate change from the perspective of the Third World and more particularly from the vantage point of the poorest nations in the international system. It concludes that those nations that are the most geographically and economically vulnerable will also have the least impact on mechanisms to halt the progress of this impending disaster. Hence, climate change is examined as yet another chapter in Third World powerlessness. Despite the fact that low-income nations participate in international deliberations, they do so from an exceedingly weak position that puts them in the untenable position of being on the receiving end …

Indigenous People And Environmental Justice: The Impact Of Climate Change, Rebecca Tsosie

University of Colorado Law Review

The international dialogue on climate change is currently focused on a strategy of adaptation that includes the projected removal of entire communities, if necessary. Not surprisingly, many of the geographical regions that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also the traditional lands of indigenous communities. This article takes the position that the adaptation strategy will prove genocidal for many groups of indigenous people, and instead argues for recognition of an indigenous right to environmental selfdetermination, which would allow indigenous peoples to maintain their cultural and political status upon their traditional lands. In the context of climate …

The Aarhus Convention And Innovations In Compliance With Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Svitlana Kravchenko

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Cartagena Protocol On Biosafety: Precautionary Priority In Biotech Crop Approvals And Containment Of Commodities Shipments, Thomas P. Redick

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Nepal's Community Forestry Program: Another Example Of The Tragedy Of The Commons Or A Realistic Means Of Balancing Indigenous Needs With Forestry Conservation?, Kirsten Westerland

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

One Minute To Midnight-Grasp And The Kinshasa Declaration Implement Critical Measures To Save The Great Apes, Rachel L. Polikoff

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Essentially A Mother, Jennifer S. Hendricks

Publications

This article connects the constitutional jurisprudence of the family to debates over reproductive technology and surrogacy. Despite the outpouring of literature on reproductive technologies, courts and scholars have paid little attention to the constitutional foundation of parental rights. Focusing on the structural/political function of parental rights, this article argues that a gestational mother has a constitutional claim to be recognized as a legal parent.

The article first discusses the "unwed father cases." Despite believing that natural sex differences justified distinctions in parental rights, the Supreme Court crafted a test giving men parental rights if they established relationships with their biological …

Keeping An Eye On The Golden Snitch: Implications Of The Interdisciplinary Approach In The Fourth Generation Of Natural Resources Law Casebooks, Sarah Krakoff

Publications

No abstract provided.

Communicating During Emergencies: Toward Interoperability And Effective Information Management, Philip J. Weiser

Publications

The suboptimal state of communications technology used by public safety agencies has emerged as a high profile political issue. In most cases, public safety agencies are able only to communicate using antiquated networks, engineered solely for providing voice communications and unable to interoperate beyond a select number of users. This type of system fails to provide the type of economies of scale, network flexibility, or the broader functionalities routinely used by the military and private sector enterprises. The challenge facing policymakers is thus how to develop a next generation architecture for public safety and spur adoption of a new set …

Back To The Future: Is Form-Based Code An Efficacious Tool For Shaping Modern Civic Life?, Lolita Buckner Inniss

Publications

This Essay serves as a critique of the New Urbanism in general and of form-based code in particular as a tool of the New Urbanism. It may be true that form-based code offers more flexibility than traditional zoning schemes and thus may offer some respite from acknowledged ills such as social and racial divisions created by exclusionary zoning and other tools, and from the relative inutility of single or limited use districts. However, I will argue that these benefits are eclipsed by some of the problems of form-based code. Form-based code is frequently hailed as a back to the future …

Internet Think, Susan P. Crawford

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Re-Evaluating Fcc Policies Concerning The Lifeline & Link-Up Programs, Lynne Holt, Mark Jamison

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Telecom Globalization And Deregulation Encounter U.S. National Security And Labor Concerns, Warren G. Lavey

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Resource Guide For Juvenile Law Practitioners, Colene Flynn Robinson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Judging Treaties, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.