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Disaster Law Commons

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Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Disaster Law

Toward Comprehensive Reform Of America's Emergency Law Regime, Patrick A. Thronson Jan 2013

Toward Comprehensive Reform Of America's Emergency Law Regime, Patrick A. Thronson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Unbenownst to most Americans, the United States is presently under thirty presidentially declared states of emergency. They confer vast powers on the Executive Branch, including the ability to financially incapacitate any person or organization in the United States, seize control of the nation's communications infrastructure, mobilize military forces, expand the permissible size of the military without congressional authorization, and extend tours of duty without consent from service personnel. Declared states of emergency may also activate Presidential Emergency Action Documents and other continuity-of-government procedures, which confer powers on the President-such as the unilateral suspension of habeas corpus-that appear fundamentally opposed to …


Lessons From Hurricane Katrina: Prison Emergency Preparedness As A Constitutional Imperative, Ira P. Robbins Oct 2008

Lessons From Hurricane Katrina: Prison Emergency Preparedness As A Constitutional Imperative, Ira P. Robbins

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike the United States, in terms of casualties, suffering, and financial cost. Often overlooked among Katrina s victims are the 8,000 inmates who were incarcerated at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) when Katrina struck. Despite a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, these men and women, some of whom had been held on charges as insignificant as public intoxication, remained in the jail as the hurricane hit, and endured days of rising, toxic waters, a lack of food and drinking water, and a complete breakdown of order within OPP Wien the …


Emergency Federalism: Calling On The States In Perilous Times, Adam M. Giuliano Dec 2007

Emergency Federalism: Calling On The States In Perilous Times, Adam M. Giuliano

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The attacks of September 11 prompted a historic debate concerning terrorism and domestic emergency response. This ongoing dialogue has driven policy decisions touching upon both liberty and security concerns. Yet despite the enormous effort that has gone into the national response, the role of the sovereign states, and with it federalism, has received comparatively little attention. This Article explores the relevance of federalism within the context of the "War on Terror" and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Acknowledging that theories of federalism developed elsewhere are insufficient, he outlines a doctrine of 'emergency federalism.' The author argues that the Framers …


Abolishing The "Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence" Threshold Of The Price-Anderson Act, Dean R. Tousley Apr 1981

Abolishing The "Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence" Threshold Of The Price-Anderson Act, Dean R. Tousley

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article critically examines the extraordinary nuclear occurrence threshold in light of its congressional purpose. Part I surveys the Price-Anderson Act's nuclear liability scheme. Part II focuses on the extraordinary nuclear occurrence threshold, scrutinizing its content and its application to the Three Mile Island accident. Part III discusses the need for reform of the nuclear liability waiver of defenses scheme, concluding that the threshold should be abolished.