Law Commons^™

Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under The Endangered Species Act, Eric Biber

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Despite the devastating impact climate change will have on biodiversity, most legal scholars and policymakers are skeptical that the flagship statute for protecting biodiversity in the United States, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), should be deployed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This skepticism has been driven by the concern that using the ESA to regulate greenhouse gases could lead to administrative issues, legal chaos, and political backlash that might endanger the Act overall.

In this article, I draw on three different elements to argue that the ESA could plausibly be used to regulate greenhouse gases. Specifically, I draw on recent …

Why Stop Grazing The Climate Commons?, Brigham Daniels

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Many have argued that climate change is the textbook example of a tragedy of the commons. Assuming that is correct, to make headway on climate change, we would expect an enforceable agreement that provides for global collective action. The tragedy of the commons assumes that those who cut back when others do not are—to use the formal language of game theorists—suckers. So, the last thing we would expect is a surge of unilateral action. Contrary to theory, for the past decade, unilateral climate action has flourished among governments, businesses, other organizations, and individuals.

Is the number of climate suckers growing …

Got Lead In Your Water? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law May Be Poised To Help, Andrian Lee, Melissa Scanlan

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Humans have no known safe level of exposure to lead. Blood lead levels have devastating consequences, especially for children, affecting their brain development and almost every organ in their bodies. Various government organizations have enacted measures to combat lead contamination in drinking water and its dangerous human health consequences by replacing lead service lines. At the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, which requires states to replace lead service lines. At the state level, governments have programs to fund the replacement of lead service lines in their communities, but these funds often fall …

A Seat At Whose Table? Analyzing Detroit’S Community Benefit Ordinance As A Tool For Environmental Justice, Sarah Draughn Gargaro

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as the “just treatment and meaningful involvement” of all people in the decisionmaking that affects the environment and human health. Since the origins of the modern American environmental justice movement in the 1980s, activists have emphasized the importance of self-determination. Environmental justice requires that decision making processes center the voices of the individuals impacted by decisions made about the distributions of environmental assets and harms. There is a significant challenge, however, in designing community engagement practices that meaningfully involve community members. Since the 1990s, community benefits agreements have been heralded as an effective …

Evaluating Copyright Protection In The Data-Driven Era: Centering On Motion Picture's Past And Future, Chieh-Li Pai

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1910s, Hollywood has measured audience preferences with rough industry-created methods. In the 1940s, scientific audience research led by George Gallup started to conduct film audience surveys with traditional statistical and psychological methods. However, the quantity, quality, and speed were limited. Things dramatically changed in the internet age. The prevalence of digital data increases the instantaneousness, convenience, width, and depth of collecting audience and content data. Advanced data and AI technologies have also allowed machines to provide filmmakers with ideas or even make human-like expressions. This brings new copyright challenges in the data-driven era.

Massive amounts of text and …

Cracking The Shield: Cda Section 230, Algorithms, And Product Liability, Kevin Ofchus

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—Fourth Amendment: Without Your Clothes, The Fourth Amendment Goes, Courtney Murray

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Halfway Deals: Or, When Is A Non-Contract A Contract?, David Crump

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—Filling The Gap: The Need For Legislative Action To Protect The Right To Record Police In The Age Of Citizen Journalism, Madalyn J. Goolsby

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consumer Protection & Bankruptcy Law—Rewarding Repayment: Removing The Fear From Crushing Student Loan Debt Through Alternatives To Discharge, Sarah Holden

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lost In Transmission: How To Bring More Clean Energy Onto The Grid, Ryan Block

Student Scholarship

The Inflation Reduction Act and other policies are pushing solar, wind, and other clean energy technologies into the marketplace. But these generators struggle to make the physical connection to the electricity market because interconnection is proving to be a bottleneck; over 2,000 gigawatts of capacity are waiting to connect to the grid. This Article examines the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) regulations that govern the entry of new generation resources onto the grid. It reviews the statutory underpinnings of FERC’s interconnection authority and analyzes key federal regulations, including pending FERC proposals, and finds that current backlogs are the product of …

Blockchain Safe Harbor? Applying The Lessons Learned From Early Internet Regulation, Amy Cyphert, Sam Perl

Marquette Law Review

It has been more than a quarter century since Congress enacted twin safe harbor provisions to help protect and encourage the growth of a nascent internet by removing some liability and regulatory uncertainty. Today, there are calls for a similar safe harbor provision for blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. What lessons have we learned from the implementation of the internet safe harbor provisions, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? This Article charts the history of those provisions and their judicial construction over the decades. It also examines …

Veto The Black-Box Politics: How Implementing Blockchain Technology Into The United States Voting System Will Give Our World The Transparency We Deserve, John J. Healy

Hofstra Law Review

The article focuses on the legal standards regarding golfer liability for damages to adjacent people and property caused by errant golf shots. It critiques existing defendant-friendly standards and proposes a strict-liability standard, arguing that it would be more appropriate given the potential dangers posed by golf. It discusses various jurisdictional approaches to golfer liability, highlighting inconsistencies and shortcomings in the current legal framework.

Auditing The Auditors: Overregulations Under The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Sheila Krische

Hofstra Law Review

The article analyzes the constitutional authority of the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) to regulate auditors' examination practices, amidst recent scandals involving major auditing firms. It questions their statutory mandate and explores the balance between self-regulation and government oversight in the accounting profession.

Contested Actors Around The Initiation Of A Non-Judicial Settlement Mechanism For Past Gross Human Rights Violations: A Socio-Legal Study Of The Ppham Team, Abdul Munif

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The PPHAM Team (Non-Judicial Resolution of Past Gross Human Rights Violations) was initiated by the Jokowi-Ma'ruf administration as an alternative settlement mechanism for Past Gross Violations of Human Rights through the issuance of Presidential Decree Number 17/2022 (Keppres 17/2022). From this context, the establishment of the policy was criticized and rejected by civil society organizations (CSOs) and the Victims. This was because the PPHAM Team was deemed a measure of State responsibility “hand-washing” and an indication of impunity preservation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the contestation of actor interests among the State, Victims, CSOs, and others, by emphasizing the …

With More Power Comes More Responsibility: The Supreme Court Of North Carolina Acknowledges Nurse Autonomy, But Clearer Guidelines Surrounding Liability Are Needed, Laura Fisher

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unshackling Cities, Felipe Ford Cole

University of Chicago Law Review

Scholars have long demonstrated that cities are constrained by states and the federal government in the exercise of their power. While important, the emphasis on these “vertical” constraints on cities does not account for the “horizontal” constraints on city power from private actors. This Article suggests that the emphasis on vertical constraints on city power is due to a misunderstanding of the history of local government law that describes its sole function as the vertical distribution of power between cities and different levels of government. I revise the history of Dillon’s Rule, the doctrinal cornerstone of local government law’s vertical …

Stating The Obvious: Departmental Policies As Clearly Established Law, Eliana Fleischer

University of Chicago Law Review

Qualified immunity is a judge-made doctrine originally created to shield officers from liability only when they could not have been on notice that their actions were wrongful. In the four decades since the Supreme Court first articulated this justification for qualified immunity, the doctrine has become unmoored from its roots and has expanded to protect officers even in the face of clear evidence that the officers should have known better.

The test for qualified immunity states that officers are immune from liability in the absence of clearly established law that previously condemned their conduct, but the Supreme Court has not …

The Fair Housing Act After Inclusive Communities: Why One-Time Land-Use Decisions Can Still Establish A Disparate Impact, Kate Gehling

University of Chicago Law Review

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a civil rights statute that prohibits housing discrimination against several protected classes. One theory of liability under the FHA is disparate impact, in which a plaintiff alleges that the defendant’s policy or practice, although facially neutral, nevertheless has discriminatory effects because it disproportionately negatively affects a protected class. In its 2015 opinion, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the Supreme Court affirmed that the FHA includes disparate impact liability but also potentially limited its applicability—the Court distinguished between a defendant’s policy and a one-time decision by a defendant, …

The Abandonment Of International College Athletics By Nil Policy, Victoria J. Haneman, David P. Weber

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unbundling Business Bankruptcy Law, Melissa B. Jacoby

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Populist Constitutionalism, Anya Bernstein, Glen Staszewski

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contents, North Carolina Law Review

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Medical Care Vs. Medicalization: The Implications Of The Fourth Circuit's Decision In Williams V. Kincaid, Huma Khursheed

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Oral History Of Sandra Douglass Morgan, Unlv Gaming Law Journal, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School Of Law

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Community Benefit Sharing And Renewable Energy And Green Hydrogen Projects: Policy Guidance For Governments, Perrine Toledano, Chris Albin-Lackey, Maria Diez Andres, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

The massive and rapid expansion of renewable energy is needed to limit global warming, so its social acceptance must be assured. While not a silver bullet, well-designed and governed benefit-sharing arrangements can lead to beneficial outcomes in ways that speak to affected communities’ needs and interests.

In partnership with the Green Hydrogen Organization and to support the efforts of the Planning for Climate Commission, this report offers high-level guidance to governments that seek to ramp up the development of renewable energy projects, including power generation and grid infrastructure. The report emphasizes that governments need a strong and coherent policy approach …

Building Seats At The Table: The Use Of Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Agreements To Address Forced Labor In The Global Value Chain, Natasha H. Sarna

Journal of International Business and Law

No abstract provided.

Taming Wildcat Stablecoins, Gary B. Gorton, Jeffery Y. Zhang

Articles

Cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, are all the rage. Investors are exploring ways to profit off of them. Governments are considering ways to regulate them. While the technology underlying cryptocurrencies is new, the economics is centuries old. Oftentimes, lawmakers are so focused on understanding a new technological innovation that they fail to ask what exactly is being created.

In this case, the new technology has recreated circulating private money in the form of stablecoins, which are similar to the banknotes that circulated in many countries during the nineteenth century. The implication is that stablecoin issuers are unregulated banks. Based on lessons learned …

Above Reproach? The U.S. Supreme Court's Ethical Issues, Christopher J. Przemieniecki, Jana Nestlerode, Carli Younce

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

With society scrutinizing the American criminal justice system, a standard of ethics becomes ever so important for law enforcement officials, members of the bench, and correctional personnel. Creating a code of conduct not only benefits the individual players in the criminal justice system but it also protects the integrity of each institution. Unfortunately, one of the most important judicial branches in the criminal justice system, the United States Supreme Court, does not have, nor follow an ethical code of conduct. This creates a problem for criminal justice practitioners, the media, and society. This article examines the current requirements for a …

Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal, Volume 12, William & Mary Law School

Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal

The Importance of Property Rights

September 29-30, 2022

Panel 1: The Importance of Property Rights: A Tribute to James S. Burling

Panel 3: Roundtable: Emerging Issues in Takings and Property Rights Litigation

Featured Authors (Burling, Kanner, and Valois)