Law Commons^™

Local Land Use Control In New York: An Aging Citadel Under Siege, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In New York, local officials determine the shape and pace of land development, decide the economic fate of land owners and are the stewards of our natural resources. The system of local control of land use has remained relatively static since it was first created by the state legislature over seven decades ago. Today, however, it is under siege. Its strength is being sapped by preemptive state and federal regulations; it is being attacked by environmentalists and developers alike. The state's highest court has called for fundamental reform.

The Meaningful Representation Of Children: An Analysis Of The State Bar Association Law Guardian Legislative Proposal, Merril Sobie

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article will outline the background and history of the law guardian system, summarize the Task Force proposal and analyze the proposal's effects. The intent is to present a synopsis of the issues addressed by the proposal, which has been forwarded to the Legislature for consideration during the 1992 session.

Judges' Bench Brief: Fourth Annual Pace National Environmental Moot Court Competition, Melanie H. Fund, Deborah M. Robertson, Paul M. Schmidt

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief For Appellee Defense Contractors Association: Fourth Annual Pace National Environmental Moot Court Competition, Sarah Palamara Ellis, Kevin P. Moriarity, John W. Vorder Bruegge

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief For Appellant Secretary, United States Department Of Defense: Fourth Annual Pace National Environmental Moot Court Competition, Diana M. Loucks, Jacqueline Brown

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Appellee, Environmental Friends, Inc.: Fourth Annual Pace National Environmental Moot Court Competition, Christopher Fox, Beth Mcdonald, Lisa Ramsay

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tricks Prosecutors Play, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Criminal defense lawyers must recognize and challenge prosecutorial misconduct whenever it occurs. In my opinion, prosecutor's today wield greater power, engage in more egregious misconduct, and are less subject to judicial or bar association oversight than ever before. Few defense lawyers or commentators would disagree with these conclusions. Indeed, some types of prosecutorial misconduct have become almost “normative to the system.”

The New Prosecutors, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The power and prestige of the American prosecutor have changed dramatically over the past twenty years. Three generalizations appropriately describe this change. First, prosecutors wield vastly more power than ever before. Second, prosecutors are more insulated from judicial control over their conduct. Third, prosecutors are increasingly immune to ethical restraints. Only the last point may provoke some controversy; the first two are easily documented, and generally accepted by the courts and commentators.

Part I of this article examines in greater detail this vast accretion of prosecutorial power, and explains how this transformation has resulted in a radical skewing of the …

Private Property Investment, Lucas And The Fairness Doctrine, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

These remarks are not intended to advocate the interests of the new property rights movement. In fact, those advocates will be disappointed by what I say. Rather, I aspire to view the issue of real property regulation as broadly as possible, reaching beyond the jurisprudence of regulatory takings cases into the realms of real estate transactions law and comprehensive land use planning.

Footprints In The Shifting Sands Of The Isle Of Palms: A Practical Analysis Of Regulatory Takings Cases, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

It was not until the last day of the term, June 29, 1992, that the Court decided Lucas. By that time, interest could not have been greater. At issue was the validity of a regulation that prohibited all permanent development of the plaintiff's two beachfront lots. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the regulation by a 3-2 margin because it prevented a “great public harm.” The U.S. Supreme Court reversed that determination and remanded the case to determine whether South Carolina's common law of nuisance could prohibit the construction of single-family housing on the lots. The fractured Court delivered an …

Teaching Writing Through Substance: The Integration Of Legal Writing With All Deliberate Speed, Michelle S. Simon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The stated pedagogical task of the first year of law school is to teach students to "think like lawyers." Legal writing, which is a traditional first-year course, serves this purpose by helping students develop writing and analytical skills that are essential to their ultimate success as lawyers. The greatest difficulty faced by those who teach legal writing, however, is communicating to students that legal writing is a means towards synthesizing the law and preparing them for the complex legal and human problems of modern law practice. To help overcome this difficulty, Pace Law School has developed a course that fully …

Chisom V. Roemer: Where Do We Go From Here?, Randolph M. Mclaughlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In Chisom and Houston Lawyers' Association, the Court declined to address two substantive issues critical for pending and future litigation challenging the at-large election of state judges. The Court expressly stated that it would not decide the elements that must be proved to establish a violation of section 2 or the remedy that would be appropriate for a violation proven in the context of a judicial election. Part II will discuss the Chisom and Houston Lawyers' Association decisions. Analysis of these decisions, combined with a review of the legislative history, supports the Court's view of the amended section 2. In …

Bray V. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic: The Supreme Court's Next Opportunity To Unsettle Civil Rights Law, Randolph M. Mclaughlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The legislative history of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 is scrutinized to determine the factual predicate that led to the enactment of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) and the classes Congress sought to protect under its provisions. The legislative history is also analyzed to determine which rights Congress sought to protect in § 1985(3). Part III discusses the Supreme Court's misinterpretation of the statute and attempts to provide guidance as to the proper outcome in Bray.

Judicial Choice And Disparities Between Measures Of Economic Values, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

An important idea, which characterizes law in society, is a reluctance to move from the status quo. In general, one can argue that legal institutions and legal doctrine are not engaged in the redistribution of wealth from one party to another. This paper explores a possible explanation for that principle. The authors' research suggests that, across a wide range of entitlements and in a variety of contexts, individuals value losses more than foregone gains. The paper argues, as a matter of efficiency, that law and social policy might have developed in a manner consistent with this valuation disparity. Furthermore, this …

What Comes Out Must Go In: Cooling Water Intakes And The Clean Water Act, Karl R. Rábago

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

It is time to measure progress under section 316 of the Clear Water Act, the one section of the Act that focuses not on discharges, but on intakes. Part II of this Article discusses the environmental hazards in more detail and explains how cooling water intakes produce them. Part III of this Article examines the history of regulation and nonregulation under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act, describes the development of the "common law" concerning the regulation of cooling water intakes, and explores the effect of EPA's regulatory actions and omissions on state regulatory efforts. Part IV assesses the …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the Survey year seventeen articles of the CPLR were amended and three new articles were added. Also, effective December 1, 1991, Congress has approved important amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Civil Justice Expenses and Delay Reduction Plans were adopted by the Board of Judges of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Additionally, there have been significant developments in the decisional law of discovery, statute of limitations, sanctions, and res judicata. These and other areas should be of interest to the practitioner.

What Is Behind The "Property Rights" Debate?, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council' obviously presents issues that range far more broadly than just whether people should be allowed to build on beaches and dunes. Many observers have viewed the case as a splendid opportunity for the Supreme Court to re-establish private owner autonomy in land use decisions - to cut down, perhaps drastically, on elected legislatures' traditional power to protect the environment by regulating uses of land. Behind the "property rights" debate is the question of whether states and communities really ought to have the power that they have traditionally had to control the development and patterns …

Dances With Nonlawyers: A New Perspective On Law Firm Diversification, Gary A. Munneke

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, Professor Munneke continues the debate over ethical rules governing lawyers' professional affiliations with nonlawyers, arguing in favor of the adoption of uniform rules that regulate lawyers' conduct in the context of specific ethical issues, such as confidentiality and conflicrs of interest. In Professor Munneke's view, the retention of ethical rules that prohibit law firm diversification impedes the ability of lawyers to compete effectively in today's rapidly changing marketplace of professional services.

Professor Munneke moreover questions whether state bar association rules that prohibit law firm diversification are capable of withstanding judicial scrutiny under the federal antitrust laws and …

International Trends In Environmental Impact Assessment, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This paper explores the range of legislation that has created the EIA mandate. A more comprehensive study of all EIA laws is under preparation by the Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, but this study will not be complete until 1992. In the absence of such an exhaustive analysis, this paper sketches the global legislative trends in EIA.

Law, Order And Democracy: An Analysis Of The Judiciary In A Progressive State--The Saskatchewan Experience, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Current legal debates on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada have focused on the apparent shift in the location of power from elected representatives to the judiciary since 1982. In this paper, I take an historical perspective on that issue. I will explore the relationship of political power, as exercised by the judiciary through the interpretation of legislation, with concepts of parliamentary supremacy in Saskatchewan during the fist half of this century.

The paper first describes the political character of the judiciary in Saskatchewan from 1905 until 1941, and then describes the political movements which gave rise to …

"Reasonable Expectations" Define Board Power To Liquidate A Solvent Close Corporation In Bankruptcy, Shelby D. Green

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will argue that, in the absence of contrary provisions in the articles of incorporation, the power of the board of directors of a solvent close corporation to file a voluntary petition for liquidation in bankruptcy must be determined by the theory of “reasonable expectations.” This doctrine not only addresses wrongdoing by those in control, but also defines the power and rights of close corporation participants. Part II briefly considers the uses of bankruptcy in recent years and comments on the peculiar occasion of a solvent corporation deciding to liquidate in bankruptcy. Part III summarizes the facts and identifies …

What Role Should The Federal Government Play In Consumer Protection?, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of these remarks is to comment on and to reinforce many of the points made by Professor Neilson in his "Comment on the Recent Federal Proposals for the Rationalization of Trade Practices Regulation in Canada".' More broadly, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the motives and agenda of the current policies and constitutional reform proposals which address the role which the federal government should play in consumer protection generally.

Government Liability For Economic Losses: The Case Of Regulatory Failure, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Compensation claims against provincial and federal governments are largely a product of the second half of the 20th century. The initial surge of cases after the enactment of the federal Crown Liability Act in 1953--mirrored also in developments at the provincial level-- were typically "private" tort claims. Indeed a significant percentage of claims against the federal government continue to be nothing more than automobile accident, occupier liability claims and lawsuits arising out of similar relatively minor bureaucratic error. Recently, however, as a result of both the imagination of litigators and the growth of the regulatory state, claims against governments have …

Least Cost Electricity For Texas, Karl R. Rábago

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The effects of consuming fossil fuels have disproportionately elevated human importance by the collective impact made on the world environment. Even the most buoyant optimist can be depressed by adding the global climactic changes of the greenhouse effect to a list that already includes air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination, health effects, balance of trade deficits, declining technological competitiveness, and vanishing natural resources. In Texas the primary source of electricity, and a major source of environmental problems, is the combustion of fossil fuels. This article introduces the reader to some of the environmental, economic, and regulatory challenges involved in responding …