Law Commons^™

Purging The Drug Conviction Ban On Food Stamps In California., Lyndsey K. Eadler

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

California’s choice to only partially opt out of the federal lifetime ban on food stamps for felony drug offenders results in the California legislature denying necessary and vital food assistance to thousands of otherwise eligible Californians. Other than supporting a “tough on drugs” agenda, no legitimate reason can be provided for categorically denying food stamps to individuals with felony drug convictions while allowing individuals convicted of other crimes to continue receiving the benefit. This ban is detrimental to the reintegration of ex-felons into the community; for poor ex-felons, who are financially eligible to receive food stamps, the ban significantly limits …

How States Can Affect Federal Deepwater Port Lng Licensing Decisions: A Case Study Involving The Deepwater Port Act And The Coastal Zone Management Act, Linda Krop

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article explores the general role of coastal states in permitting offshore LNG terminals, and the specific role that California played in the licensing process for the proposed Cabrillo Port LNG project. There are many facets of state authority, including the approvals required for the portions of LNG projects located within a coastal state’s jurisdiction (primarily within the first three miles offshore), the application of state laws to proposals to construct offshore LNG facilities under the DWPA, the authority of the governor of the adjacent coastal state to approve or “disapprove” deepwater port projects, and the right of a coastal …

La's Taco Truck War: How Law Cooks Food Culture Contests, Ernesto Hernández-López

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Food Justice As Interracial Justice: Urban Farmers, Community Organizations And The Role Of Government In Oakland, California, Christopher J. Curran, Marc-Tizoc González

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Exclusion In California's Marijuana Reform Movement, Brooke Mascagni

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Not-So-Green Renewable Energy: Preventing Waste Disposal Of Solar Photovoltaic (Pv) Panels, Genevieve Coyle

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment provides a background on solar power and PV technology, identifies the toxic components of PV products, and explains how disposal of PV waste poses a threat to the environment. Part II also illustrates how poor management of electronic waste (e-waste) in the U.S. has resulted in environmental pollution - a preventable consequence that can be avoided for the PV industry.

Part III advocates a recycling and life-cycle-management approach to regulation because it provides a more sustainable future for the solar industry. Part IV discusses federal and state hazardous waste regulations and demonstrates how these laws are ineffective to …

A Call For Consistency: Open Seawater Intakes, Desalination, And The California Water Code, Angela Haren Kelley

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment argues that the federal and state standards for reducing marine life mortality from power-plant intakes should be applied to a statewide policy for new desalination projects in California. Under this framework, open seawater intakes should not be permitted for new desalination plants. Part II of this Comment provides an overview of the history and technology of desalination as well as environmental impacts of open seawater intakes and alternative intake technologies. Part III surveys existing state and federal laws addressing open seawater intakes and suggests a framework for applying these laws to desalination projects. Part IV argues that new …

Addressing The Significance Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Ceqa: California’S Search For Regulatory Certainty In An Uncertain World, Alexander G. Crockett

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article explores the efforts of California’s air agencies in addressing how to determine the significance of a project’s greenhouse gas emissions under CEQA, focusing on the recent guidance adopted by three of California’s largest regional air-quality agencies – the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. It also addresses work done by the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association and the California Air Resources Board (ARB), which laid the foundations for these agencies’ actions. In Section II, the Article provides a brief review of …

No Signature Needed: The Supreme Court Of California Settles Precedent And Furthers The Goals Of The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act: Ruiz V. Podolsky, Meghan L. Travis

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In Ruiz v. Podolsky,2 the California Supreme Court ended the strife surrounding wrongful death claims when Rafael Ruiz (Ruiz), the decedent, executed a binding arbitration agreement.3 The court was able to soundly support its decision on applicable legislation, case law and public policy after weaving its way through a turbulent mish-mash of contradictory precedent. This note will discuss: (1) California's attempt to decrease the cost of medical malpractice claims, (2) the ramifications of Ruiz's allowing arbitration agreements to bind heirs, and (3) the differing approaches states have taken toward the application of binding arbitration agreements to beneficiaries

Ely At The Altar: Political Process Theory Through The Lens Of The Marriage Debate, Jane S. Schacter

Michigan Law Review

Political process theory, closely associated with the work of John Hart Ely and footnote four in United States v. Carolene Products, has long been a staple of constitutional law and theory. It is best known for the idea that courts may legitimately reject the decisions of a majority when the democratic process that produced the decision was unfair to a disadvantaged social group. This Article analyzes political process theory through the lens of the contemporary debate over same-sex marriage. Its analysis is grounded in state supreme court decisions on the constitutionality of barring same-sex marriage, as well as the high-profile, …

How The Law Mattered To The Mono Lake Ecosystem, Sherry A. Enzler

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board reported
unprecedented degradation of ecosystems and the services they provide
to human well-being which, if allowed to continue, would adversely affect
human health, security, and welfare. Our environmental legal authorities,
however, are not designed to protect the health of our nation’s ecosystems,
focusing instead on clean air, clean land, and clean water as a
single medium, often referred to as the silo approach to environmental
protection. Protecting ecosystems requires a systemic approach to the
environment in both policy and law; this in turn requires a change in our
approach to environmental protection. How do …

Tango Or More - From California's Lesson 9 To The Constitutionality Of A Gay-Friendly Curriculum In Public Elementary Schools, Amy Lai

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In August 2009, a group of parents in California filed a lawsuit, Balde v. Alameda Unified School District, in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. They alleged that the Alameda Unified School District refused them the right to excuse their children from a new curriculum, Lesson 9, that would teach public elementary school children about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) families. The proposed curriculum included short sessions about GLBT people, incorporated into more general lessons about family and health, once a year from kindergarten through fifth grade. Kindergarteners would learn the harms of teasing, while fifth graders …

The Origin And Civil Law Foundation Of The Community Property System, Why California Adopted It And Why Community Property Principles Benefit Women, Caroline Bermeo Newcombe

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Paris Hilton Avoids Getting Slapped: The Application Of California's Anti-Slapp Statute To A Right Of Publicity Claim In Hilton V. Hallmark Cards, Lindsay C. Hanifan

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dream Of Californication: Constitutional Questions Put The Brakes On The Nation's First Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Morgan Brubaker

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.