Environmental law

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A recently-published Note from the Stanford Law Review: Josh Patashnik, Bringing a Judicial Takings Claim, 64 Stan. L. Rev. 255 (Jan. 2012). Here’s the abstract:

This Note seeks to answer a set of questions prompted by the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In that case, six Justices recognized that the Constitution provides some protection against so-called judicial takings—court decisions that, like executive and legislative action, might be deemed to take property rights. But the Court’s fractured holding provided little guidance on a handful of practical issues that will be of immense interest to potential judicial takings plaintiffs, like whether such claims can be brought in federal court and what remedies might be available. I argue that a judicial takings plaintiff should be able to bring her case in federal district court, notwithstanding the barriers the Supreme…

Continue Reading New Article: Bringing a Judicial Takings Claim (Stanford Law Review)

Thanks to the Land Use Prof Blog for getting the word out about the new documentary “Urbanized.” It’s next up on our “to watch” list, and we will have a review when we’ve seen it. The New York Times had this to say:

The mingling of design and happenstance is, to some extent, the deep subject of “Urbanized,” Gary Hustwit’s fascinating, idea-packed new documentary. In this remarkably concise film — which could easily have sprawled to 15 hours on public television — Mr. Hustwit and his crew survey both the challenges and promises facing some of the world’s important cities. Their itinerary may not take them everywhere you want it to, but it also turns up some unexpected vistas along with familiar ones.

Read the full Times review here. More to follow. Continue Reading “Urbanized” – Land Use And Planning Documentary Released

YouvebeentrumpedDonald Trump has more money than you. He’s also a huckster, a self-aggrandizing showman, a judgmental snob, and an eminent domain abuser with more than a hint of mean lying just below the surface. And he has really weird hair.

But we already knew that, and if these are the only insights to be taken from You’ve Been Trumped (Montrose Pictures 2011), the new documentary by director Anthony Baxter, the film would add little to the conversation.

But at its core, You’ve Been Trumped demands more of its audience by posing an essential question: in the “supersized” consumerist culture epitomized by Mr. Trump, is “better” inherently preferable? The film highlights his belief that modest, traditional, and worn-at-the-heels should naturally give way to glitzy, contemporary, and grandiose.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Mr. Trump’s philosophy in Kelo v. City of New London, the case where the Court’s majority allowed…

Continue Reading Movie Review: “You’ve Been Trumped” – Is “More” And “Better” Always Preferable?

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Sackett v. EPA, No. 10-1062 (transcript here). We were going to write up our thoughts, but minds immeasurably better than ours beat us to it. Concensus seems to be that the EPA is going to get smacked, but we can’t tell yet how hard. Our review of the transcript leads us to the same conclusion, but we’ve learned never to count chickens before their anticipated hatch date, so will reserve judgment.

  • SCOTUSblog: A weak defense of EPA – “With a federal government lawyer conceding almost every criticism leveled at the way the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compels landowners to avoid polluting the nation’s waterways, the Supreme Court on Monday seemed well on its way toward finding some way to curb that agency’s enforcement powers.”

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Continue Reading Sackett v. EPA Oral Argument Round Up

Trumped

Following up on the success of last week’s screenings of Battle for Brooklyn comes another documentary about “sports vs homes,” this time with an environmental twist.

Come join us this Friday, January 13, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. for the Hawaii premiere of “You’ve Been Trumped” at the Doris Duke Theater at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. There is a pre-screening reception from 6:00 – 7:30, so please come early.

In this controversial David-and-Goliath story, a group of Scottish homeowners take on Donald Trump as he sets out to build the world’s most luxurious golf resort on one of Scotland’s last wilderness areas. When the Scottish government overturns their own environmental laws to greenlight the project, the stage is set for an extraordinary summer of discontent.

Winner: Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice, Hamptons International Film Festival.

I will post my review shortly.

I will be…

Continue Reading Hawaii Premiere: “You’ve Been Trumped” – Friday, January 13, 2012

The transcript from today’s arguments in Sackett v. EPA, No. 10-1062. Justice Alito, quoted above (p. 37) was an active questioner. More to come after we’ve read the transcript. Disclosure: Pacific Legal Foundation represents the petitioners; I do PLF’s work in Hawaii. Continue Reading Sackett v. EPA Transcript: “Don’t you think most ordinary homeonwers would say this kind of thing can’t happen in the United States?”

12.WATHIThere is still time to join us for the upcoming Hawaii Water Law conference, to be held in Honolulu on January 11, 2012. I am the planning co-chair along with Jesse Souki, Director of the State of Hawaii Office of Planning.

In addition to Jesse and me, we’ve assembled a diverse and talented faculty: UH lawprof David Callies will speak with Elijah Yip (Cades) on the latest developments in water law and public trust litigation. State Water Commissioner Lawrence Miike will update us on the latest goings-on at the Commission. My Damon Key partner Greg Kugle is speaking with Leo Asuncion, the Manager of the Coastal Zone Management Program at the State Office of Planning on coastal issues.

After lunch, we have a special guest, Ed Thomas (a lawyer and President of the National Hazard Mitigation Association, and a nationaly known expert in floodplain management and…

Continue Reading Hawaii Water Law Conference (Jan. 11, 2012)

Now that we’ve decked the halls, its time to clear the decks: the end of 2011 is on the horizon, and in order to start 2012 off on a fresh note, here are opinions of interest lined up in our “to post” queue, but that we’ve not found the time to actually digest and post:

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Continue Reading Year-End Opinion Dump

DK_greenbag_1If your local jurisdiction has not banned plastic grocery bags (like three of Hawaii’s five counties already do, the Big Island recently joining Maui and Kauai Counties, leaving only the City & County of Honolulu and _____ County* without a ban), trust us, it’s spreading.

Let it not be said that we left you unprepared. After all, hauling your groceries out of the store in a cardboard box, Costco style, is just plain undignified. Not to mention unwieldy.

So for a limited time, we are offering our readers our firm’s reuseable, 100%-from-recycled-materials-big-enough-to-carry-two-bags-of-groceries EnviroBag (photo above, and from another angle here). These blue bags are not your typical cheap recycle bags, but are made of a sturdy woven fiber and have a built-in floor piece. They are quite strong and will hold a ton of stuff.

But we’re not simply giving them away — you’ve got to earn it.…

Continue Reading Plastic Bag Ban? Try Our Holiday Swag Contest

Laurence-brahm

My old friend and law school classmate Laurence Brahm is in town for a few weeks as a visiting fellow at the East-West Center, and took some time off last week from finishing his latest book to come down to our law firm and share his views on the issues of the day. Here’s his talk on the future of the economy, the political situation, and lessons to be learned from China’s experience:

Stream it above or download it here (24mb mp3).

In that same vein, here’s Laurence’s latest article from YaleGlobal Online, “A Global Consensus to Rise and Occupy.”

Agree or disagree, Laurence’s views are very thought-provoking. Continue Reading Podcast: The Economy, Politics, And Lessons From China