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The Clean Water Act’s Nurdle-Shaped Gap: Using the CWA to Address Primary Microplastic Pollution
No full textThe term “nurdles” may sound like a silly made-up word lifted from the pages of a children’s book, but unfortunately nurdles are all-too real, with trillions of these microplastics ending up in our oceans each year. Nurdles spill into the environment at every step along their supply chain, allowing them to end up in fish and on our plates. Despite the known danger nurdles pose to both wildlife and humans, they are virtually unregulated. In the absence of regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some states and their citizens have begun trying to wrangle rogue nurdles, and hold nurdle dischargers accountable, on their own. Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of nurdles escaping into the environment and their mobility once out there, even the most successful local efforts are unable to make a dent in the nurdle problem.
However, the Clean Water Act (CWA) already provides the tools needed to address nurdle pollution at the federal level — it just needs to be used in the right way. This Note offers two such ways the CWA can be utilized in the fight against nurdle pollution. To curb everyday spills caused by improper handling at plastics facilities, the EPA should promulgate a zero nurdle discharge standard for relevant industries. To ensure proper nurdle cleanup in the wake of major shipping accidents, in which millions of nurdles spill directly into a waterway all at once, the EPA should consider classifying nurdles as a hazardous substance under CWA Section 311. As the plastics industry prepares to ramp up North American production, and research increasingly shows the hazards of nurdle ingestion, it is imperative that we address the gaps in our regulatory system that thus far have allowed nurdle pollution to go unchecked
The Chinese Doctrine of Fundamental Principles of International Law: Comparison of Soviet, Euro-American, and Chinese Theories of International Law
No full textA number of states in the former communist bloc, such as Russia, have adopted the doctrine of the fundamental principles of international law, which originated from the former Soviet Union. What is the concept of the fundamental principles of international law in China? This study elucidates the uniqueness of the fundamental principles in China by comparing doctrines of international law in the Soviet Union and Western countries with reference to descriptions in contemporary international law textbooks in China
The Brady Database
No full textThe Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brady v. Maryland turns sixty this year. The Brady doctrine, which requires the government to disclose favorable and material evidence to the defendant, is one of the most frequently litigated criminal procedure issues. Yet, despite decades of Brady cases in federal and state courts, we still know relatively little about how Brady claims are litigated, adjudicated, and what such claims can tell us about the criminal justice system writ large. Scholars are in the dark about how often Brady violations occur, whether it is primarily the fault of prosecutors or the police, whether violations are intentional or accidental, and a host of related questions.
This Article fills a gap in the data and literature by analyzing five years of Brady claims—over 800 cases—raised in state and federal courts. We coded each case for more than forty variables to answer big-picture questions like how often Brady claims are successful and which courts are most likely to grant relief. We also studied more intricate questions such as the types of crimes and evidence at issue, whether judges deemed violations intentional or accidental, and whether judges chastised or disciplined prosecutors for failing to disclose evidence.
Our study revealed some important and surprising findings. Despite suggestions in some quarters that prosecutorial misconduct is not a major problem, courts found Brady violations in 10% of the cases in our study. Prosecutors, not police, were responsible for most violations and they were almost never referred to the Bar for discipline. While federal prosecutors are supposed to be elite highly trained lawyers, they were responsible for a disproportionate share of Brady violations. And while the federal courts are lauded as the protector of civil liberties, it was state courts that granted relief more frequently, often on direct review rather than in habeas corpus proceedings as scholars would have expected.
These findings and many others—such as petitioners having to wait on average ten years for relief for Brady violations—demonstrate that we continue to have egregious prosecutorial misconduct problems in the United States and that further study is needed. To that end, this project not only reports significant data, but also is the first step in the creation of a searchable database that we are creating to empower other researchers to further analyze how Brady claims are being litigated and adjudicated
Bill for Gig Workers Misses the Mark
No full textThis article examines the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, recently proposed by the state government. The authors discuss various concerns arising from this bill that require deeper deliberation, especially focusing on the proposed measures to augment financial resources for the welfare of gig workers
Effectiveness of Marine Species at Risk Conservation within the UNEP Regional Seas Programme: Taking Stock and Charting Future Courses
No full textThe impending biodiversity crises demands urgent, effective action. The transboundary nature of many marine species at risk makes international law a necessary tool in this endeavour. The United Nations Environment Programme and its Regional Seas Programme consists of 18 individual progammes spanning the globe and bringing together 143 countries in regional collaborations. This research project evaluates potential effectiveness of four programmes within the Regional Seas Programme relative to each other on twelve elements looking at legal and institutional structure, as well as regional implementation. The four case studies cover the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean, East Africa, and Caribbean regions. These programmes were selected because they are geographically diverse, and they include binding legal obligations to protect marine biodiversity. In order to provide context, the discussion starts with a brief overview of the threats facing marine species, as well as scientific tools used to evaluate extinction risk. It then traces the historical development of international law related to species at risk. This overview shows that international law has a relatively long history of protecting some species, especially marine mammals. In order to position conservation of marine species within international law, a review of fisheries-related instruments, conservation and international trade in wildlife conventions, habitat protection conventions, and instruments addressing sustainable development follows. Research on the effectiveness of international environmental agreements indicates that these instruments positively contribute to the achievement of their objectives, although there is room for improvement. This overview demonstrates that marine species at risk are subject to a complex mosaic of legal frameworks outlining state obligations and commitments. The analysis of the four case studies completes this research project. The results show that all four of the reviewed programmes have the legal and institutional structures needed to protect and recover marine species at risk. However, regional implementation is lagging in particular in areas such as recovery planning and compliance review. Proposed future directions include improved transparency and accountability, integration of social, economic, and environmental concerns, and establishment of regional ocean governance networks
