Law Commons^™

Judicial Review Of Risk Assessments: The Role Of Decision Theory In Unscrambling The Benzene Decision, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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[Reprinted in 13 Land Use & Envtl. L. Rev. 629-48 (1982).]

Benefits, Costs, And Risks: Oversight Of Health And Environmental Decisionmaking, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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This article considers problems of "regulatory reform" in the context of environmental and health decisionmaking. Specifically, in Part I, this article defines cost-benefit analysis, explores its advantages and limitations, and assays cost-benefit practice in light of descriptive theoretical and practical demands of formal decisionmaking within administrative agencies.

The two remaining sections of this article focus on the question of how Congress and the courts can, do, and should structure environmental and health regulation. In Part II, the article explores legislative models for agency consideration of costs and benefits in promulgating regulations. It examines four alternative models, and identifies normative considerations …

A Hard Look At Vermont Yankee: Environmental Law Under Close Scrutiny, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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In Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the District of Columbia Circuit in two cases that closely scrutinized decisions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and, in so doing, questioned settled habits of judicial review of administrative action affecting the environment. In this article Professor Rodgers analyzes four implications of Vermont Yankee—substantive judicial review under the National Environmental Policy Act, judicial imposition of procedures upon agencies beyond the statutory minima of the Administrative Procedure Act, the obligation of the agencies to consider alternatives in the environmental impact statement without regard to …

Comment On The Coal Lease Forfeiture Decision: The Hypothetical Case Of United States V. Peabody Coal Co., William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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This Comment will (1) summarize the antitrust litigation that put Peabody in jeopardy of losing its leases under section 27 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, and (2) criticize the decision of the Justice Department to forego a test case, thus drastically narrowing by administrative fiat the coal lease forfeiture provisions of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act.

A Survey Of The Washington Industrial And Safety Act’S First Months Of Operation, Hugh D. Spitzer

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The still brief existence of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA)' has not begun to yield a full view of its operations, effects, strengths and weaknesses. But a look at the preliminary data compiled by the Division of Industrial Safety and Health of Washington's Department of Labor and Industries does give one an idea of the shape that the Act's enforcement will take, as well as its effect on the business and working communities.' This comment will provide a brief overview of Washington's early experience with the Act, based on statistics and interviews with the individuals responsible for …

The National Industrial Pollution Control Council: Advise Or Collude?, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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This article analyzes three aspects of the National Industrial Pollution Countrol Coucil's performance: (1) the promise and risks it has presented; (2) its procedural performance, as tested by governing law; and (3) its accomplishments, both on the record and sub rosa, as measured by the expectations. In brief, NIPCC is portrayed as a dangerously anticompetitive institution occasionally doing business in violation of the law. The Council has published both public relations material and some useful data, but it has served more importantly as a lobbying forum for industries chafing under the regulatory bit. The experience of NIPCC forms the basis …

Direct Judicial Review And The Doctrine Of Ripeness In Administrative Law, Joseph Vining

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There has been recent interest in rationalizing and codifying the opportunities for judicial review of federal administrative determinations outside an enforcement context or special proceedings designated by statute. Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner culminated the development of a strong judicial presumption in favor of such review, founded in general considerations and justified by the broad language of the Administrative Procedure Act (AP A or Act). Since the petitioners in Abbott had theoretical rights to later review of the agency position in enforcement proceedings, the Court called the procedure "pre-enforcement" review. But similar opportunities for immediate and direct review of agency positions …

A Touchstone For Labor Board Remedies, Theodore J. St. Antoine

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Fashion dictates what lawyers argue about, and law professors write about, more than we may care to admit. In labor law, especially, the styles change with a rapidity that would impress a Paris couturier. During the past decade the spotlight has moved from union democracy to labor contract enforcement to the union organizing campaign. Today the "in" topic is National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) remedies. Yet if any subject deserves immunity from the vagaries of fashion, this is the one; for all rights acquire substance only insofar as they are backed by effective remedies. Coke said it long ago: "[W]ant …

James T. Fant V. The Auditor Of Public Accounts, Thomas M. Cooley

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Two district attorneys complained that they were unlawfully deprived of their salary when the number of attorneys was reduced from thirteen to eleven by legislative action -- $1200 each. With the reduction in number of attorneys came the move to limit these two attorneys to service only in their counties of residence and a reduction in salary to $100 each. "When by law provision has been made for a certain number, and they have been lawfully chosen, they are protected for the term, as they would have been had the constitution itself indicated how many there should be."

Griswold V. Bay City, Thomas M. Cooley

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1. RIGHT OF OWNERS OF ADJOINING LOTS TO MATERIAL TAKEN FROM STREETS - SALE OF SAME BY CITY. - In grading a street for the purpose of paving, it was necessary to remove earth which the city had no occasion for, and the street commissioner sold the same to a party who removed and used it. In an action to recover the purchase-price the purchaser defended, claiming that the city did not own the earth, but that it was owned by the adjoining lot-owners. There was no showing that the earth was of any peculiar value, nor did it appear …