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PRAY THE GAY AWAY: CONVERSION THERAPY, SUICIDE, RELIGION, AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT
Full text linkIn the United States, gay conversion therapy (GCT) has not been banned nationally, although twenty states have issued laws banning therapists from practicing it. While the Supreme Court has refused to hear several cases involving challenges to laws banning GCT, recently the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found a local law banning the practice as an unconstitutional regulation on the First Amendment right of speech. This ruling disappointingly confuses ideas of First Amendment protections with what amounts to psychological torture of our youth. It must be noted that while bans on GCT have been successfully upheld as constitutional in other regions, the laws only ban the practice for licensed therapists, not for clergy or any other religiously affiliated organization who wish to use the practice on the youth. This distinction will be discussed later
Rittmann v. Amazon.com, Inc.: Ninth Circuit Rules Amazon’s Drivers Fall Within the Federal Arbitration Act’s “Transportation Worker Exemption”
Full text linkAmazon is among a large list of corporations that have long tried to enforce mandatory arbitration against delivery drivers who file suit in their respective jurisdictions. In recent years, delivery drivers have decided to fight back against private arbitration and to have their legal battles heard in court. In these cases, delivery drivers argue that they are exempt from arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) because they are engaged in interstate commerce. Section 1 of the FAA exempts from arbitration “contracts of employment of seaman, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” Further, section 2 of the FAA governs whether the Act applies in the first place and broadly relates to “contract[s] evidencing a transaction involving commerce.” In a recent Ninth Circuit decision, the court established that delivery drivers are exempt from mandatory arbitration, allowing drivers to keep their lawsuits in court. In addition, the Ninth Circuit holding makes dismantling class or collective actions more problematic for transportation, logistics and gig-economy companies
A CLEAN WATER ACT, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT
Full text linkThe Clean Water Act has traveled a successful but tortuous path. From combustible beginnings on the Cuyahoga River; through the Lake St. Clair wetlands; to reservoirs near the Miccosukee; and eventually discharged (or “functionally” discharged) off the Maui coast. With each bend, the nearly fifty-year-old Act has proven to be not just resilient, but among our most successful environmental laws. Much of that success stems from an effective enforcement structure that focuses more on treating pollutant sources rather than just impaired waters. The text creating that structure has largely remained untouched by Congress for decades.
This article begins by posing a thesis: The Clean Water Act regulates all “waters of the United States.” It then suggests a two-part antithesis: Congress violated the nondelegation and void-for-vagueness doctrines by defining the Clean Water Act only as reaching “waters of the United States.” And it resolves the conflict with a synthesis: a call for Congress to amend the Clean Water Act by providing the statute with a more stable and intelligible jurisdictional reach. Federal oversight in water quality regulation is a necessity. But to what degree is a policy decision that Congress has yet to make
IS AN INJUNCTION THE RIGHT VEHICLE TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE?: GREENWASHING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING CONSUMER CHOICE IN FOSSIL FUEL ALTERNATIVES
Full text linkIn the face of the climate crisis, people are increasingly interested in more sustainable and eco-conscious alternatives to fossil fuels. As a result, companies associated with fossil fuel industries are under pressure to conform to this trend among consumers by marketing themselves as leaders in developing sustainable alternatives. However, instead of changing their practices in an effort to mitigate climate change, some companies only promote the appearance of change by engaging in “greenwashing.” Greenwashing is defined as the “practice of misleading people to believe that a company is engaging in virtuous practices so as to cover up poor practices” or relying on appearances instead of reality; i.e., relying on good marketing instead of actual change.
This comment will explore the implications of these cases with respect to a key difference between Big Oil and Big Tobacco, which is that, unlike tobacco, many aspects of our society still depend on oil and gas. Responsible advertising, like that which helped curtail the use and sales of cigarettes, may not be as effective when it comes to oil. Many people still have little personal choice as to whether to participate in the oil economy because they rely on oil for fueling cars and homes and many other uses. Therefore, in order to be effective in the fight against climate change, an injunction prohibiting Exxon’s greenwashing should be paired with government efforts to develop alternatives to petroleum products that will give consumers a real choice. Alternatives can include increasing access to greener transportation such as electric vehicles, as well as public transit and active travel.
This comment begins with an overview of the deceptive advertising practices that were used by the tobacco industry and those used more recently by the oil and gas industry, focusing on Exxon in particular. It then takes a closer look at the relief sought in these cases and considers how the differences between these industries might limit the effectiveness of restricting greenwashing. Finally, the comment recommends additional government actions to enhance the impact of the current lawsuits in addressing climate change
Fandom and the Law: A Guide to Fan Fiction, Art, Film & Cosplay
No full textBooks, movies, television shows, and comic books often inspire a passionate response in fans, often in the form of fan fiction, fan art, film, and cosplay. Fandom and the Law covers the intersection of this fan-created content and intellectual property law that is valuable not only to lawyers and scholars but to content creators, examining potential copyright and trademark infringement, right-of-publicity violations, fair use, and related legal issues.https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/monographs/1034/thumbnail.jp
Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, Revenue and Taxation Legislative Summary 2020
Full text linkFourth Panel: Tiger King: Litigation Implications and Sanctuary Solutions
No full textPanelist: Carney Anne Nasser Prof. Carney Anne Nasser is the big cat expert and animal protection attorney who pitched the wildlife trafficking case against Tiger King Joe Exotic that triggered the investigation leading to his conviction for multiple federal crimes and a 22 year prison sentence.
She was only the second full time animal law professor in the world when Michigan State University hired Professor Nasser to be its founding director of the animal welfare clinic at MSU College of Law. Professor Nasser has expertise in litigation, regulatory matters, public policy, lobbying, communications strategies, and social media branding. Most of her seventeen years of legal practice has focused on combatting the exotic pet trade and wildlife trafficking, with a significant focus on protection and conservation of tigers and other big cats
COVID-19 and the U.S. Federal Government vs. Undocumented Immigrants: How the U.S. Excludes Undocumented Immigrants from Financial Relief Amid a Global Pandemic
Full text linkAs we reached the Coronavirus Pandemic’s first anniversary, Americans continue to face economic troubles. The federal government has approved only three stimulus checks in the last eleven months. Contrary to public belief, these stimulus checks have been made available only to certain U.S. citizens while leaving out U.S. citizens from mixed-status families (a family that includes members with different citizenship or immigration statuses.) Furthermore, although undocumented immigrants make about 11 million of the U.S. population, they have received nothing from the federal government
Transparency and the Black Budget: A Case Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Full text linkOn Jan. 9, 2018, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) acknowledged the existence of its program on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), also known as “unidentified flying objects (UFO’s)” (Defense Intelligence Agency, 2018). The agency described the Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program (AATIP). in a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and Ranking Member Jack Reed, and, according to a former DOD official in the program, it is “highly unlikely” that a terrestrial “human adversary” would have developed the observed technology (Defense Intelligence Agency, 2018; Fox News, May 31, 2019). Despite the disclosure of the program, information available to the public on UAP now represents just “the tip of the iceberg,” according to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (The Hill, Oct. 15, 2020). This study will collect data on potential options for greater transparency, as applied to the case study of UAP. Specifically, the research will employ an electronic survey and semi-structured interviews. Both qualitative and quantitative data on perceptions were collected, with the result broadening public dialogue, and academic discussion of transparency in government
The Impact of Emergency Preparedness on Improving Recovery, Trust in Government and Employee Morale
Full text linkIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic required local governments to quickly shift workforce priorities for extended periods of time while other emergencies continued to unfold including civil unrest in the wake of the George Floyd killing, and, in California, wildfires that were the worst in state history. This paper examines the impact of how local governments prepare their workforces to respond to emergencies, identifying themes that can benefit future emergency planning efforts. The literature review examines past disaster responses, resiliency strategies, employee engagement, and current responses to COVID-19, and informs the theory of change. A local case study to find primary data was conducted using Key Informant interviews and a survey of Disaster Service Workers (DSW) in the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda, California. This study provides findings that can shape disaster preparedness training programs developed by local governments to better respond to future emergencies