Litigation Commons^™

Bison, Tribes, And Brucellosis In The Interagency Bison Management Plan, Bailey Nickoloff

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Introduction

It would be in the best interest of the Interagency Bison Management Plan (“IBMP”) and its affiliated agencies to allow Tribal governments and Tribal members to hunt bison within Yellowstone National Park (“YNP”). This would help to reduce the spread of brucellosis, reduce the environmental impacts from bison in YNP, and honor the treaties signed between the United States and Tribal governments. These agencies can accomplish this by implementing treaty hunting rights in a new Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and within an existing legal framework.

Paving A Path To Independent Tiny Living: An Introduction To Roadblocks, Jaclyn Troutner

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

“Tiny living” is a growing trend in which small-scale, ecoconscious housing is used as an alternative means for homeownership. Tiny homes are smaller than the average detached home with the appearance and character of a traditional freestanding residential home. They are one-story, single-occupant dwellings and usually constructed on a trailer base for towing. State-of-the-art building techniques provide a lower environmental burden and utility cost per square foot. Due to their smaller size, tiny homes are cheaper with an average price of $52,000, opening a wider door to home ownership. The typical design is to include all the standard amenities and …

Rulemaking Doubletake: An Opportunity To Repair And Strengthen The National Environmental Policy Act, Rachel Keylon

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Introduction

In the middle of the twentieth century, there was a turning point in the United States and around the world in the understanding of the human relationship with the natural environment and natural resources. It was a shift from a perspective of natural resources endlessly available for exploitation to a perspective that natural resources are finite, and conservation and preservation are necessary to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. The accumulation of chronic environmental degradation, such as the unchecked proliferation of pesticides and other toxic chemicals, pollution to the nation’s waters, loss of land to erosion, …

About Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

Because our publication focuses on reconciling the tensions found within our ecosystem, it spans a broad range of environmental issues such as sustainable development; trade; renewable energy; environmental justice; air, water, and …

Editor's Note, Juliette Jackson, Bailey Nickoloff

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Dear Readers,

For more than two decades, the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (SDLP) remains true to its mission of providing innovative solutions to some of the most important legal issues related to environmental law, energy law, and natural resources law. We are honored to be the Editors-in-Chief during these unprecedented times in our history, as we witnessed a historical presidential election and now enter the third year of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Despite these unparalleled times, the SDLP staff brought our readership another great issue.

In this issue, our authors provide an in-depth analysis into current regulations and …

Solving The Procedural Puzzles Of The Texas Heartbeat Act And Its Imitators: The Limits And Opportunities Of Offensive Litigation, Howard M. Wasserman, Charles W. Rhodes

American University Law Review

The Texas Heartbeat Act, enacted in 2021 as Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8), prohibits abortions following detection of a fetal heartbeat, a constitutionally invalid ban under current Supreme Court precedent. But the method of enforcement in the Texas law is unique—it prohibits enforcement by government officials in favor of private civil actions brought by “any person,” regardless of injury. Texas sought to burden reproductive-health providers and rights advocates with costly litigation and potentially crippling liability.

In a series of articles, we explore how S.B. 8's reliance on exclusive private enforcement at the expense of public enforcement creates procedural and jurisdictional …

The Truth About Design Patents, Sarah Burstein, Saurabh Vishnubhakat

American University Law Review

Design patents are hot. Scholars and policymakers are increasingly focusing on this once-niche area of law. However, many of the empirical studies in this area— including old ones that still get cited—were methodologically questionable from the start, have become outdated, or both. In this Article, we make two sets of contributions to this important and underdeveloped literature. First, we review the empirical studies of design patents thus far, including those that pre- and post-date the creation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and we update the findings of those studies. Second, we consider a set of …

Review Of Veterans Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, 2021 Edition, Angela Drake, Yelena Duterte, Stacey-Rae Simcox

American University Law Review

In the past year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) continued to define boundaries for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court). These boundaries align more closely with congressional intent, especially with regard to the jurisdiction of the Veterans Court and the internal operations of the agency.

This Area Summary discusses eight major areas in which the Federal Circuit articulated important changes in veterans law. First, the Federal Circuit revisited the important and veteran-friendly “benefit of the doubt” rule in Lynch and modified it. …

Year In Review: The Federal Circuit's 2021 Government Contract Law Decisions, Morgan W. Huston, Nicholas Feldstern, Camille Chambers

American University Law Review

It has been almost forty years since Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with the goal of ensuring uniform and definitive judicial interpretations of the law applicable to Federal Government contracting. Because, like that of the Court of Claims before it, the precedent of the Federal Circuit guides how procurement laws are interpreted, it is important for practitioners and those whose livelihoods depend on government contracting to pay attention to the decisions that the Federal Circuit issues.

End Notes, Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

State Preemption And Single Use Plastics: Is National Intervention Necessary?, Ethan D. King

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Right To Legally Sourced Lumber? How The Effective Enforcement Of The Lacey Act Is A U.S. Human Rights Obligation And Critical To Preventing Abuse In The Illegal Logging Industry, Melanie Hess

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

An Ace Up Their Sleeve Or A House Of Cards: Can The Epa's Affordable Clean Energy Rule Withstand Chevron Deference?, Shannon Zaret

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Lake Erie Bill Of Rights Gets The Ax: Is Legal Personhood For Nature Dead In The Water?, Devon Alexandra Berman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Use Of The Regular Militaries For Natural Disaster Assistance: Climate Change And The Increasing Need For Changes To The Laws In The United States, China, Japan, The Philippines, And Other Countries, Donald D.A. Schaefer

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Brianna Delduca, Hannah Gardenswartz

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

End Notes, Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

How Syria's Failure To Uphold The Kyoto Protocol And Paris Agreement Exacerbated The Effects Of Climate Change In The Levant, Nivea A. Ohri

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Continuing A Broad Application Of Section 9 Of The Esa To Prevent Future Mass Extinctions, Alicia Martinez

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Does Importing Endangered Species' Body Parts Help Conservation? Discretion To Import Trophies Under The Trump Administration, Brianna Marie

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Ferc Ruling Undermines Energy Federalism And Arbitrarily Targets Mid-Atlantic Region Renewables, Philip Killeen

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Jam V. Ifc: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?, Nicholas Johnson

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Can The Expansion Of 45q Effectively Spur Investment In Carbon Capture?, Shannon Zaret

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

No Take Backs: Presidential Authority And Public Land Withdrawls, Christian Termyn

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Nicole Waxman, Elizabeth Platt

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

End Notes, Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Ban On Plastic Microbeads: Too Narrow, Or Just Narrow Enough?, Liz Michalowska

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Real Property Sublessors Escape Cercla Owner Liability In The Second Circuit, Alison Shlom

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Using Artificial Intelligence To Improve Data Accuracy Of Air Pollutants Under The Clean Air Act, Lauren Palley

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Can Courts Stop Citizens From Prosecuting Criminal Cases Under The Clean Water Act?, Hannah Gardenswartz

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.