Law Commons^™

No Time To Waste: Can A State Prevent Nuclear Waste Transportation Within Its Borders Once Yucca Mountain Becomes Operational?, Ryan Franklin

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Following the drop of the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, the United States seriously began contemplating the use of atomic energy not just as a weapon, but as an efficient energy source. President Eisenhower delivered his “Atoms for Peace” speech in front of the United Nations eight years later, effectively launching a massive American campaign to build numerous nuclear power plants to generate enough clean energy to power the entire nation. As these plants were being constructed, however, policymakers and lawmakers who were champions of this endeavor failed to consider the problem of nuclear waste generated …

Slow And Steady Saves The Whales: Preventing Vessel Strikes On Whales In The Santa Barbara Channel, Anthony Cusato

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

“While in the life the great whale’s body may have been a real terror to his foes, in his death his ghost becomes a powerless panic to a world.” In the past, whales and humans (in boats) fought on the high seas. The humans fought for precious whale oil while the whales fought for their rights not to be murdered and turned into oil. While those days are mostly long gone, whales still face a serious threat of harm from humans in the form of vessel strikes, which is when a whale is struck by a vessel. Vessel strikes are …

Not Approved For Human Consumption: A Study Of The Denmark Water Crisis, A Call For Reforming The Swda, And A Demand For Community Lawyering In Rural America, Matthew Woodward

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Over the past four decades, nine million Americans have ingested dangerous drinking water from a trusted source: their own taps. Each year, “an estimated 16.4 million cases of acute gastroenteritis” are linked to public drinking water. For many Americans, drinking water—perhaps the most important cornerstone of human health—has become cause for concern.

In Flint, Michigan, this concern turned to panic. In 2014, after toddlers began developing painful skin conditions, children fell seriously ill, and tap water emerged in the form of thick, orange-brown sludge, the people of Flint began to wonder: is there something in the water? What soon became …

Congestion Pricing And The Opportunity To Confront New York City's Air Quality Emergency, Chad Hughes

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Poor air quality in New York City is a public health emergency that disproportionately harms the city’s most vulnerable populations. Recent studies have found that exposure to particulate matter pollution previously thought “safe” causes significant damage to perhaps every organ of the human body. While New York City has reduced particulate matter exposure over the last decade, progress has stalled. In fact, climate change, the shift in the automobile market from sedans to SUVs and “light” trucks, and the federal pullback of environmental enforcement under Trump suggest that air pollution in New York City is likely to worsen.

While the …

The Half-Earth City, Timothy Beatley, Jd Brown

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

At the intersection of the biophilic city and the global commitment to halt biodiversity declines lies the half-earth city.

E.O. Wilson inspired the global effort to conserve and restore half the Earth, to sustain remaining biodiversity, necessarily focused on areas where the human footprint is small and the conversion of land to anthropogenic land use is less pronounced. However, given the increasing urbanization of the globe, cities must also play a central role in the conservation of global biodiversity. Holistic ecoregional planning must account for the impact of cities and work to ensure that urban areas are built in harmony …

Resilience Justice And Community-Based Green And Blue Infrastructure, Craig Anthony Arnold, Resilience Justice Project Researchers

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The environmental conditions of marginalized communities, particularly low-income communities of color, make those communities disproportionately more vulnerable to major disturbances and changes, such as climate change, health crises, pollution releases, disasters, economic shocks, and social and political upheaval. Many of the most important movements for justice with respect to environmental conditions, including environmental justice, disaster justice, and climate justice, are connected to broader movements for racial and social justice, asserting that Black and Brown lives matter. These movements seek to confront, dismantle, and reform systems of racism, colonialism, and structural inequality.

In particular, low-income communities of color have inequitably less …

Digital Urban Agriculture As Disparate Development: The Future Of Food In Three U.S. Cities Through The Lens Of Stakeholder Perceptions, Networks, And Resource Flows, Michael Carolan

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Urban agriculture takes many forms. Often, the term elicits images of raised beds, hoop houses, and, in those instances where topsoil is both present and non-contaminated, in-ground gardens—what I call traditional urban agriculture (“TUA”). But that imagery is changing, especially in some parts of the country where vacant space is scarce and land prices dear. In those instances, cities are seeing growth in digital urban agriculture (“DUA”). DUA, as defined here, refers to farming within urban and peri-urban areas that incorporates elements of automation, software, and/or silicon-based hardware into their operations. While this definition is not meant to draw a …

Foreword: Sustainability In The City, Julia D. Mahoney

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

“Nature loves to hide,” observed ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus roughly 2,500 years ago, and the worldwide “COVID-19” pandemic that followed the emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at the end of 2019 has served as a bracing reminder of humanity’s incomplete understanding of the natural world. The COVID-19 crisis has turned out to be more than a public health emergency rooted in natural causes, for the pandemic has revealed significant weaknesses in humancreated institutions, including those that govern and influence the urban areas in which most Americans now live.

Of course, with crisis comes opportunity, and it seems highly plausible …

Table Of Contents (V. 45, No. 3)

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Will The Supreme Court Recover Its Own Fumble? How Alston Can Repair The Damage Resulting From Ncaa's Sports League Exemption, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

Horizontal restraints are unlawful per se unless a court can identify some redeeming virtue that such restraints may create. In National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (“NCAA”), the Supreme Court rejected this standard, refusing to condemn horizontal restraints on price and output imposed by the NCAA without specifying any possible redeeming virtues. The Court emphasized that other restraints not before the Court were necessary to create and maintain athletic competition like that supervised by the NCAA. This exemption for sports leagues ensures that all restraints imposed by such entities merit Rule …

Legal Liability For Corporations Doing Business In The West Bank: An Analysis Of Corporate Liability And A Shareholder Proposal Solution For Mitigating Risky Business Activity, Mila Kelly

William & Mary Business Law Review

For over half a century, Israeli Settlements in the occupied West Bank have expanded significantly in both land and economic activity. While this expansion has not been without criticism from the international community over fear of humanitarian law violations, global businesses have not shied away from the profitability of this region. This engagement in corporate activity within any disputed territory comes with its fair share of business risk, including legal liability for complicity in purported human rights violations.

This Note will examine the hypothetical liability for corporations doing business in the West Bank and explain how international law and the …

Justifying Anglo-American Trusts Law, Ying Khai Liew

William & Mary Business Law Review

Is the existence of trusts law within Anglo-American law justified? The literature to date does not provide a satisfactory answer. Situating the doctrinal features of trusts law within the liberal tradition of political morality, this Article suggests that trusts law is justified because it enhances personal autonomy in a unique way. It is comprehensively autonomy-enhancing, with express, constructive, and resulting trusts each playing a unique role in achieving this aim. Thus, the law provides a facility for property owners to unilaterally deal with their own property (express trusts), allows individuals the freedom to enlist others in their pursuit of their …

Fraud Against Financial Institutions: Judging Materiality Post-Escobar, Matthew A. Edwards

William & Mary Business Law Review

In Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999), the Supreme Court held that proof of materiality is required for convictions under the federal mail, wire and bank fraud statutes. During the past 20 years, the federal courts have endeavored to apply the complex common law concept of materiality to the federal criminal law context. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), a civil case involving the False Claims Act, provided the federal appellate courts with an ideal opportunity to reconsider materiality standards in federal fraud …

Zarin V. Commissioner Revisited And Some Methodologies For Determining Cod Income, Philip G. Cohen

William & Mary Business Law Review

The focus of this Article is a revisit of a very well-known and much written about Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Zarin v. Commissioner, concerning whether the taxpayer had COD income. Zarin dealt with whether a compulsive and unlucky gambler could avoid COD income when he settled with the casino for substantially less than what he owed. Along with a plethora of diverse third-party assessments of the case, the judges who heard the case and its appeal were also divided. The Tax Court opinion was decided by an eleven to eight vote for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with …

Analysis Of Administrative Agency Adjudicatory Hearing Use Of Remote Appearances And Virtual Hearings, Fredric I. Lederer, Center For Legal & Court Technology

Faculty Publications

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state courts and federal adjudicatory agencies suspended most trials and hearings. Faced with the requirement to fulfill their basic mission, many resumed partial operations using computer-based video conferencing,especially for preliminary legal and procedural matters. As time passed, the use of that videoconferencing extended to bench trials in courts and to adjudicatory hearings and proceedings such as settlement meetings, mediations, arbitrations, and status conferences in federal agencies. As of this writing, there have also been a small number of remote or virtual jury trials in state and federal courts.

The Administrative Conference …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Virginia's Coastal Areas, Jonathan L. Goodall, Antonio Elias, Elizabeth Andrews, Christopher "Kit" Chope, John Cosgrove, Jason El Koubi, Jennifer Irish, Lewis L. Lawrence Iii, Robert W. Lazaro Jr., William H. Leighty, Mark W. Luckenbach, Elise Miller-Hooks, Ann C. Phillips, Henry Pollard V, Emily Steinhilber, Charles Feigenoff, Jennifer Sayegh

Faculty Publications

As part of HJ47/SJ47 (2020), the Virginia General Assembly directed the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the “safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia.” In pursuit of this goal, the commission was to “accept any scientific and technical assistance provided by the nonpartisan, volunteer Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM). VASEM convened an expert study board with representation from the Office of the Governor, planning district commissions in coastal Virginia, The Port of Virginia, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, state universities, private industry, and …

The Brief (Edition #9, May 2021), William & Mary Law School

The Brief

No abstract provided.

Marriage Mandates: Compelled Disclosures Of Race, Sex, And Gender Data In Marriage Licensing Schemes, Mikaela A. Phillips

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note argues that mandatory disclosures of personal information—specifically race, sex, and gender—on a marriage license application constitute compelled speech under the First Amendment and should be subject to heightened scrutiny. Disclosing one’s race, sex, or gender on a marriage license application is an affirmative act, and individuals may wish to have their identity remain anonymous. These mandatory disclosures send a message that this information is still relevant to marriage regulation. Neither race nor gender is based in science; rather they are historical and social constructs created to uphold a system of white supremacy and heteronormativity. Thus, such statements are …

More Than Hungry: How Political Narratives Built & Maintain Hunger In The United States, A. Camille Karabaich

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note aims to examine the role of the legal system in creating and maintaining hunger in the United States. Through this lens, the Note discusses the shift necessary to support specific legal interventions to end hunger. This Note begins by discussing how hunger was built in the United States through policies regarding land, housing, incarceration, and food, and the narratives that allowed these policies to flourish. These policies created hunger by creating pockets of poverty and disempowerment. Although many individuals and organizations donate their time, money, and energy to support local food banks, soup kitchens, and free school meal …

Black Lives Matter Abroad, Too: Proposed Solutions To The Racialized Policing Of Ethiopian Jews In Israel, Samy Abdallah

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note will first discuss the presence of Ethiopian Jews in Israel, and then compare their stature and rights (or lack thereof) to another insular group in Israel—Arab Palestinians. Finally, this Note will discuss possible solutions and remedies to these fatal police shootings. Considering that the possibility of criminal liability for officers is low, this Note will argue that both civil remedies and additional training for police are necessary to avert future shootings of Ethiopian Jews.

The Thirteenth Amendment And Equal Protection: A Structural Interpretation To "Free" The Amendment, Larry J. Pittman

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The hope is that the Court will one day hold that the Thirteenth Amendment has its own equal protection clause or component and that strict scrutiny will not be used for benign racial classifications designed to eradicate current badges and incidents of slavery. This Article critiques the Court’s decision in the Civil Rights Cases regarding the scope of section 1 of the Amendment and it offers a holistic or structural interpretation of the Amendment to include an equal protection component and a lesser standard of review than strict scrutiny. Essentially, the Thirteenth Amendment, if properly used, could become a public …

Accelerating The Gains Of The Free Maternity Care In Kenya's Urban Informal Settlements, Juliet K. Nyamao

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The 2010 Constitution of Kenya recognizes the special group of women living in urban informal settlements, and provides for their access to the highest attainable standards of health care, including reproductive health care. The Health Act, which was enacted in 2017, recognizes the significant challenges of accessing maternal health services among the poorest populations. Pursuant to the resolutions of the African Union, the Health Act abolished user fees for pregnant women. The Health Act instructs the county and national governments to expand free maternity care and childhood immunizations through funding. Despite Kenya’s commitment to increase the national budget for health …

Necrophilia: A New Social-Harm Taxonomy Of U.S. Laws, Kim D. Ricardo

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Despite five decades marked by progressive rape law reform...there has been little significant change in the rate of rape crimes. In fact, 2018 marked the sixth successive year in which the rate of rapes rose. In rape trials, prosecutors and defense attorneys struggle with the notion of consent. What does consent look like? That is, how do we know when sex happens with the participants’ mutual willingness, free from undue coercion?

It is against this backdrop that I began my research on necrophilia. Following Catharine MacKinnon’s criticism of the now-prevailing consent model of rape law, I began to wonder what …

The Jurisprudence Of The First Woman Judge, Florence Allen: Challenging The Myth Of Women Judging Differently, Tracy A. Thomas

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article delves into the life and work of Judge [Florence] Allen to provide insight to the contributions and jurisprudence of the first woman judge. For history questions what difference putting a woman on the bench might have made. Part I explores Allen’s early influences on her intellectual development grounded in her progressive and politically active family, and her close network of female professional friends. Part II discusses her pivotal work with the women’s suffrage movement, working with the national organizations in New York and leading the legal and political efforts in Ohio. This proactive commitment to gender justice, however, …

Revolving Doors Of Hospitalization And Incarceration: How Perceptions Of Procedural Justice Affect Treatment Outcomes, Maria Slater

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article compares the levels of procedural justice afforded to persons with severe mental illness in the civil and criminal systems, either via involuntary commitment in state psychiatric hospitals in the civil system or via mental health court as an alternative to incarceration in the criminal system. Using Virginia’s mental health courts and civil commitment systems as case studies, this Article compares the procedures by which a person can be involuntary committed in the civil system with those afforded to persons who are funneled into mental health treatment courts in the criminal system, analyzing how levels of procedural justice—both actual …

Treble, Treble Toil And Trouble: The New Per Se Rule As A Protection Against The Curse Of The "Supreme Evil", Seth Konopasek

William & Mary Business Law Review

The Supreme Court has called collusion between firms the “supreme evil” of antitrust. Despite public and private enforcement efforts, collusive firms and the cartels they form cost American consumers billions of dollars a year and undermine the virtues of our free market economy. The Chicago School theory of antitrust enforcement, which has dominated antitrust scholarship, vehemently disapproves of private antitrust actions that enable plaintiffs to recover treble damages. Recent scholarship, however, has rejected the Chicago School’s concerns of overdeterrence and embraced the treble damages remedy. This Note follows the recent scholarship and proposes the New Per Se Rule, which would …

Drilling For Admiralty: The Ocsla As A Bar To Maritime Law In Ocs Drilling Accidents, Christopher W. Sanborn

William & Mary Business Law Review

Maritime law is ultimately driven by commerce. The seas were—and continue to be—one of the easiest ways to transfer goods over large distances. Yet maritime commerce has a relative newcomer that is not shipping or transportation focused—offshore drilling. Should admiralty and maritime law, intended to protect seamen and keep ships engaged in maritime commerce apply to personal injury claims on drilling rigs on the Outer Continental Shelf? This Note argues that they should not apply for two reasons. In Lozman v. Riviera Beach, the Supreme Court announced that a “vessel” should appear to the reasonable observer as intended to carry …

Blurred Lines: Disparate Impact And Disparate Treatment Challenges To Subjective Decisions-- The Case Of Reductions In Force, Allan King, Alexandra Hemenway

William & Mary Business Law Review

Subjective employment decisions may be challenged under disparate treatment (intentional discrimination) and/or disparate impact (the discriminatory consequences of a neutral policy) theories of discrimination. However, these theories and supporting evidence often are conflated when the criteria for selecting employees are ill-defined or unrecorded. In those instances, the process by which employees are selected merges with the selections themselves, these legal theories converge as well. This Article critically discusses how courts have struggled to distinguish these theories in cases alleging a discriminatory reduction in force. It suggests how these cases should be submitted to juries, to preserve the liability and remedies …

Independent Craft Breweries Struggle Under Distribution Laws That Create A Power Imbalance In Favor Of Wholesalers, Daniel Croxall

William & Mary Business Law Review

Independent craft breweries are facing historic challenges under the COVID-19 pandemic. To make matters worse, many states prohibit a brewery from terminating a distribution contract with a wholesaler absent statutorily defined “good cause,” which typically means fraud, bankruptcy, or other illegal conduct. In this context, lagging sales or poor distribution performance are not grounds for a brewery to terminate a distribution contract. This means that it is nearly impossible, legally or financially, for an independent craft brewery to terminate a distribution contract with an unsatisfactory wholesaler. In essence, states have statutorily tipped the balance of power in favor of distributors …

The All Events Test In An Era Of Self-Regulation, Glenn Walberg

William & Mary Business Law Review

Accrual-method taxpayers must use the all events tests to account for rights and liabilities under contracts for sales of goods and services. These longstanding tests evolved from transactions that involved relatively straightforward exchanges of goods or services for payments, and the tests currently reflect an expectation that a taxpayer will usually make an accrual when a seller’s performance fixes the contracting parties’ respective right to and liability for payment. Business practices have changed such that many sales now occur in relationships where contracting parties assume, monitor, and enforce process-related obligations, including adoptions of codes of conduct by members of global …