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Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Insurance As A Lever For Semi-Managed Climate Retreat, Albert C. Lin

Georgia Law Review

Private insurers are declining to issue or renew homeowner policies in California, Colorado, Florida, and Louisiana following massive payouts due to hurricane and wildfire damage in recent years. As climate change worsens, more private insurers will withdraw from property insurance markets. Governments, particularly at the state level, will likely expand their insurance programs to fill the gap. Just as the federal government now underwrites most flood insurance policies, public insurers will come to dominate the fire and wind insurance markets. Property insurance can generate price signals reflecting the risks of living in climate-vulnerable areas. However, public insurance programs often prioritize …

Empowering Family Forestland Owners To Reduce Wildfire Risk, Tom Lininger

Georgia Law Review

Wildfire risk is growing in the forested portion of the Wildland-Urban Interface, especially in the Western United States. Some commentators have suggested that the time has come for measures that would reduce the human presence in this area. In certain circumstances, however, family forestland owners have a salutary effect on forest resiliency. The attempt to exclude family forestland owners would create more problems than it would solve. A better strategy would be to assist family forestland owners in fireproofing their residences and improving the health of their forests.

Climate Risk, Insurance Retreat, And State Response, Mark Nevitt, Michael Pappas

Georgia Law Review

Climate change is fundamentally destabilizing the private insurance industry, with many high-profile insurance companies exiting states in the face of catastrophic, climateinduced risk. This rapid “insurance retreat” represents a major market signal in response to climate-exacerbated risks. Private businesses are making actuarial decisions, assessing that some locations are just too vulnerable to insure. At the same time, this insurance retreat also poses a policy challenge for states as they react to the mounting insurance gaps left by exiting private insurers. This Article analyzes insurance retreat, its attendant policy challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn from state responses. It …

Building Climate Resilience With Local Tools, Shelley Saxer

Georgia Law Review

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, celebrated the grassroots environmental movement that began in the ‘60s and early ‘70s and ushered in the creation of a new legal framework for controlling pollution and addressing environmental concerns in the United States. However, more than fifty years later, some experts fear that the environmental progress achieved during the ‘70s and ‘80s has begun to stall as the United States and other nations experience broad economic hardship and must shift their focus to more immediate concerns. Therefore, even as the damaging effects of climate change threaten communities across the globe, the …

Farmland And Forestland In An Era Of Climate Change: Hurricane Michael And Opportunities To Advance Rural Resilience, John Travis Marshall

Georgia Law Review

Catastrophic disasters fundamentally destabilize and reshape communities. They often cause loss of life and invariably inflict extensive property damage. Disabled individuals, the elderly, chronically ill persons, and families struggling to make ends meet are almost always left more vulnerable. Affected communities frequently experience population loss, a declining property tax base, and economic contraction. Over the last three decades, a string of major disasters has focused scholarly attention on their far-reaching impacts on large cities. Storms and earthquakes have reshaped urban landscapes and forced communities to reckon with their futures from San Francisco to Northridge, Houston to New Orleans, and Miami …

Resilient Forest Management And Climate Change, Blake Hudson

Georgia Law Review

Climate change threatens the very existence of the world’s forests as temperature increases outpace forests’ ability to adapt. Society must implement adaptation policies aimed at making forests more resilient. This Article describes how we can better manage for more resilient forests by first detailing some of the scientific and policy complexity affecting our ability to do so. The Article then details the primary adaptation solutions for creating greater forest resiliency (reducing fire risk and integrating more climate resilient species into forests), some of the impediments to implementing those solutions (federalism, geographic and ecological differences in forests, and scientific unknowns), and …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword: The Thirteenth Administrative Law Discussion Forum

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Democracy, Chevron Deference, And Major Questions Anti-Deference, Richard W. Murphy

Georgia Law Review

In 1984, the Supreme Court in its Chevron opinion invoked democratic values to help justify holding that courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable construction of a statute that it administers. In 2022, in West Virginia v. EPA, the Court invoked democratic values to help justify the major questions doctrine (MQD), which requires clear congressional authorization for agency claims of major regulatory power. Democracy, it seems, requires deference and anti-deference for agency statutory interpretations.

Or maybe not. This Article submits that the democracy talk of Chevron and West Virginia is implausible, misleading, and may have caused the law to evolve …

Do Elections Really Have Consequences?: Presidential Indifference, Attenuated Accountability, And Policy Paralysis Within The Administrative State, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Georgia Law Review

In theory, the Constitution vests all, not “some” or “most,” of the executive power in the President; the buck supposedly stops at the Resolute Desk. Yet current practice falls well short of this constitutional ideal. The conjunction of fixed terms of office, good cause removal limits, and partisan balance requirements for the heads of multi-member independent federal agencies, boards, and commissions can and does leave critically important federal agencies effectively unaccountable to the President. Such a state of affairs existed at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from January 20, 2021, until September 25, 2023—over half of President Biden’s fouryear term …

Should Congress (Or, For That Matter, A New Federal Authority) Regulate Social Media?, Russell L. Weaver

Georgia Law Review

There has been considerable controversy regarding the ills of social media platforms. In addition to disinformation, those platforms can contain obscenity, child pornography, and even terroristic speech. This Article examines whether Congress should directly regulate social media content, or whether it should create a new social media regulatory authority.

Can The Automated State Be Trusted? The Role Of Rule Of Law Safeguards For Governing Automated Decision-Making And Artificial Intelligence, Joanna Mazur, Maciej Bernatt

Georgia Law Review

The goal of this Article is to take a broader perspective on the lessons which can be learned from the implementation of automated decision-making in the public sector—specifically in regard to how procedural rule of law mechanisms can make such projects trustworthy. The underlying idea behind this Article is to posit the debate about the ADM within the context of rule of law as a key notion in liberal democracies. At the same time, we rely on a law and political economy framework. We look through the lens of power relations and assess to what extent selected procedural solutions governing …

Resilient Administrative Technology, Stefanie Egidy

Georgia Law Review

Decision-making in the administrative state increasingly relies on automated information processing. Yet administrative law has not kept pace. This creates a need for an institutional redesign of decision-making processes under the conditions of digitization and presents a window of opportunity to discuss the normative pillars of a renewed architecture for administrative decision-making. Automation creates an impetus for administrative actors to broaden their perspective from making singular, deterministic, and individual decisions to adopting a pluralist, probabilistic, and generalized approach to address any underlying more complex and dynamic problems. Therefore, this Article argues that the conventional normative goals of efficacy, efficiency, and …

Automated Decision-Making And Review Of Administrative Decisions, Margaret Allars

Georgia Law Review

The use of automated decision-making (ADM) carries an enhanced risk of failure to meet administrative law standards. This Article identifies Australian federal statutory schemes for ADM and instances of non-statutory use of ADM, with a view to evaluating the scope for the risk to be realized. Express provisions for correction of error, internal review avenues, and external review by tribunals and courts may not deliver satisfactory solutions. Despite a promising start, review and reform of the regulation of ADM use has lagged. However, in 2023, the Report of the Royal Commission into Robodebt gave the issue renewed impetus, recommending statutory …

Built Binary: Rethinking The Incarceration Of Transgender Individuals Within A Dual-Gendered Prison System, Amanda Graham

Georgia Law Review

There are an estimated 1.6 million transgender individuals in the United States. Yet the nation’s prison systems have retained their traditional binary structure, separating male and female inmates. The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) became effective in 2012, outlining best practices for the housing of transgender inmates. In recent years, there have been several court decisions that have directly and indirectly increased the protections available to transgender inmates. Many states have also passed legislation updating their prison policies to address these issues, but these measures have not been uniform. Some states have not yet adopted the PREA recommendations while …

Gratuitous Wealth: How Wealth Transfer Tax Avoidance Contributes To America's Unwinding, Robbie Ottley

Georgia Law Review

In an era of increasing economic concentration, ultrawealthy Americans overwhelmingly pay taxes at a lower rate than their fellow taxpayers. Using tax avoidance mechanisms, the ultrawealthy cling tightly to their wealth, worsening economic inequality. A particular culprit is the ultrawealthy’s avoidance of generational wealth transfer taxes through mechanisms like the grantor retained annuity trust, or GRAT. Since 2000, GRATs have exploded in use, and estimates of the tax avoided through this mechanism range from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars. By exacerbating economic inequality, GRATs and other transfer tax avoidance mechanisms accelerate the socioeconomic and cultural fracturing that has …

"Extraordinary" Times Call For "Compelling" Measures: Reforming The First Step Act's Compassionate Release Mechanism For Noncitizen Detainees, Laura Jimenez Garcia

Georgia Law Review

Year after year, America’s carceral state reaches new and more concerning heights. In this era of mass incarceration and criminalization of immigration status, imprisonment costs have skyrocketed, and the quality of life in prisons has plummeted. In response, Congress passed the First Step Act in 2018, which reformed federal sentencing practices. The First Step Act allows federal criminal defendants to request compassionate release, either for several enumerated reasons or for “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances. In the Federal Sentencing Commission’s new Sentencing Guidelines, federal courts have the discretion to define what circumstances fit under the catch-all provision defining “extraordinary and compelling” …

Excepting Nondelegation From Supreme Court Review, Michael Lomax

Georgia Law Review

For almost a century, the nondelegation doctrine has allowed Congress to create hundreds of distinct federal agencies—provided the delegation meets the “intelligible principle” requirement. While not exacting, this standard underlies the current administrative state, and absent a sufficiently defined alternative, the intelligible principle should remain undisturbed. A recent dissent and a separate pending case, however, give pause. Both present opportunities to rework the intelligible principle, but the solutions offered do not advance the ball. Rather, they suggest replacing a vague interpretive standard with a troublesome interpretive standard, which is unwarranted when a meaningfully clearer one is unfeasible. Further still, conceptualizing …

Not A Question Was Asked: The Trajectory Of Corporate Accountability In Light Of Officer Exculpation, Joshua E. Eastwood

Georgia Law Review

This Note examines the implications of the 2022 amendments to Delaware’s General Corporation Law— particularly the changes to Section 102(b)(7), which extends exculpation provisions to corporate officers. Previously limited to directors, these provisions now allow corporations to shield officers from personal liability for breaches of duty of care, albeit in a more constrained manner. The expansion raises questions about its necessity and potential impact on corporate law—with particular focus on the remaining accountability mechanisms available to shareholders. Delving into the evolving dynamics of corporate governance, this Note considers the current topography of corporate law: focusing on the roles and interplay …

Judicial Review Of Government Pandemic Responses: Emerging Basic Lines In The Federal Administrative Court's First Judgments, Ferdinand Wollenschläger

Georgia Law Review

This Article analyzes the first rulings of the highest administrative court in Germany regarding measures aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the architecture of fighting the pandemic, its relevance for judicial protection, and the basic lines of the court’s rulings. It also critically evaluates key issues such as: dealing with pandemic situations as a challenge for the separation of powers and judicial review, proportionality, the significance of expert knowledge, and the need for fundamental rights protection via procedures.

Judicial Review Of Coronavirus Measures In The United Kingdom And France, Duncan Fairgrieve, Francois Lichere

Georgia Law Review

This Article examines the executive measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges brought against them before the courts. Adopting a comparative law perspective by contrasting the U.K. and France, the authors compare the principles applied by the courts, the degree of intensity of judicial review, and the deference afforded to public authorities often acting in haste to respond to the public health threat of the pandemic. While it is not easy to explain those differences, institutional, procedural, and socio-legal factors may play a role.

The Israeli High Court Of Justice During The Covid-19 Crisis: The Model Of Continuous Judicial Review, Yoav Dotan

Georgia Law Review

In this Article, I seek to review the reaction of the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) to the social and political pressures created by the spread of the virus in Israel amidst a constitutional crisis that Israel went through during 2020- 2021. The HCJ is regarded by many as a strong and interventionist judicial institution. Often, critics argue that the degree of supervision exerted by the HCJ over both the Israeli bureaucracy and the political branches goes way beyond the traditional role of the judiciary, as envisioned by theorists of judicial review. My aim is to use this analysis …

Legal Accountability And Judicial Review During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Aotearoa New Zealand, Dean Knight

Georgia Law Review

The government in Aotearoa New Zealand, like other governments elsewhere, exercised significant and unprecedented power during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to combat the virus and to protect its people. The breadth and depth of the public health response also caused monumental interference in people’s lives. This Article discusses the way judicial review of administrative action was used to hold the government accountable in law for its public health response and provided an avenue for people to pursue grievances. The key phases of the public health response are described, and the types of power exercised are identified. The nature and …

Neuropsychological Malingering Determination: The Illusion Of Scientific Lie Detection, Chunlin Leonhard, Christoph Leonhard

Georgia Law Review

Humans believe that other humans lie, especially when stakes are high. Stakes can be very high in a courtroom, from substantial amounts of monetary damages in civil litigation to liberty or life in criminal cases. One of the most frequently disputed issues in U.S. courts is whether litigants are malingering when they allege physical or mental conditions for which they are seeking damages or which would allow them to avoid criminal punishment. Understandably, creating a scientific method to detect lies is very appealing to all persons engaged in lie detection. Neuropsychologists claim that they can use neuropsychological assessment tests (Malingering …

Testing The Limits Of Virtual Compliance: Website Accessibility, "Tester" Plaintiffs, And Article Iii Standing Under The Ada, Ashlyn Dewberry

Georgia Law Review

Federal courts have split in determining whether “tester” plaintiffs bringing suit under the ADA assert the requisite injury in fact necessary for Article III standing. These “website accessibility testers” allege that defendants’ websites do not make certain information available to disabled persons in violation of Title III of the ADA and one of its implementing regulations. This split presents an excellent opportunity to clarify which informational and stigmatic harms qualify as injuries in fact for Article III standing purposes. This Note argues that ADA website accessibility testers cannot obtain standing under current law. Neither the text of the ADA nor …

Compelling Evidence In International Commercial Arbitration After The Section 1782 Shutdown: Faa Section 7 As An Alternative Approach, Caroline Bailey

Georgia Law Review

The United States Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in the 2022 case ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. resolved the long-disputed circuit split regarding the application of Section 1782 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code to international arbitrations. The Court’s ruling that the term “foreign or international tribunal” under Section 1782 includes only governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative bodies ended the use of Section 1782 to compel evidence located in the United States in private adjudicative bodies such as international commercial arbitrations. The Section 1782 shutdown has required arbitrators and parties to international commercial arbitrations to seek alternative legal mechanisms …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Human Rights Indicators In Assessing Compliance With The Un Convention On The Rights Of People With Disabilities, Arlene S. Kanter

Georgia Law Review

In recent years, international human rights treaties have come under attack for failing to fulfill their promise. While it may be true that human rights treaties have not realized their full potential in every case, there is little discussion about how to measure the impact of treaties. This Article explores the ways in which we measure compliance with human rights treaties, focusing on the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD entered into force in 2008. Since then, 188 States Parties have ratified it. In addition, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recently …

Systemic Failures In Health Care Oversight, Julie L. Campbell

Georgia Law Review

Hospitals are intentionally shirking their duty to identify and report incompetent medical practitioners, and it is causing catastrophic injuries to patients. Why are hospitals doing this? Two decades of health care reforms have changed the way physicians and hospitals interact in the U.S. health care system, and as a result, the traditional health care oversight tools no longer work to ensure physician competence. With three out of four physicians now employees of hospitals or health care systems, hospitals have become the guardians of both the internal and external warning systems designed to flag incompetent practitioners. As the guardians, hospitals are …