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Integration Without Classification: Moving Toward Race-Neutrality In The Pursuit Of Public Elementary And Secondary School Diversity, Paul Diller

Paul Diller

No abstract provided.

A Hobson's Choice: Ensuring Open Government Or Conserving Government Funds, Michele L. Mekel

Michele L Mekel

Part and Parcel of American democracy is the notion that governmental functions should be carried out in a manner that is open to public scrutiny and accessible to the people. Capturing this belief, sunshine laws and freedom of information statutes requiring public access to government meetings and records began to emerge as early as 1898. Following the 1966 passage of the Federal Freedom of Information Act, states that lacked such provisions adopted open records and open meetings laws. Currently all 50 states and the District of Columbia have statutory provisions that allow public access to official records and meetings. Nevertheless, …

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Public Trust & Distrust: Theoretical Implications Of The Public Trust Doctrine For Natural Resource Management, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This essay reviews the theoretical underpinnings of the public trust doctrine, received at common law and constitutionalized in many states, and explores its contentious reception by green legal theorists. Since Professor Joseph Sax's revival of the ancient common law doctrine as a vehicle for environmental advocacy in the early 1970s, it has been hailed by many environmentalists as the most powerful tool available for protecting natural resource commons. At the same time, however, it has been attacked by others who argue that use of the property rights-based doctrine reifies an ownership approach to natural resources and obstructs the development of …