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Courthouse Doors are Closed to Foreign Citizens for International Law Torts Committed by American Corporations
Full text linkThis Note examines the intersection of corporate accountability, human rights violations, and legal recourse for victims of child slavery in the cocoa industry inspired by the Court’s decision Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe. This decision further limited the scope of the Alien Tort Statute, hindering the plaintiffs’ quest for justice for international human rights violations. The Note analyzes the decision in Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe through (1) an examination of the Court’s limitations on the Alien Tort Statute and (2) an analysis of the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision in Nevsun
Machine Speech: Towards a Unified Doctrine of Attribution and Control
Full text linkLike many courts across the country in 2023, courts in the Eleventh Circuit were met with novel claims challenging ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools. These cases raise common questions: How should courts treat the speech of machines? When a machine generates allegedly defamatory material, who is the speaker—mortal or machine? When a machine generates expressive creations, who is the artist, and does that shape copyright eligibility? When a machine makes assertions about reality through lab analyses and other forensic reports, who is the accuser, and how does the answer impact a defendant’s rights at trial? Should those answers stem from a common doctrinal model for machine speech attribution, or should they be discordant based on competing policy goals in each area of law? This Article explores those cases and the increasingly expansive machine speech doctrine, including Walters v. OpenAI, a 2023 Georgia defamation case involving ChatGPT, and a series of cases arising from the Eleventh Circuit’s machine speech Confrontation Clause case—one of the first major cases of its kind—United States v. Lamons
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Agency Administrative Programs
Full text linkThis Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)-including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds-in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with or among private actors has deep historical roots. ADR related to managerial agency matters such as employment or procurement is well-established across the government and performed under a uniform set of laws. Much less has been known, however, about the scope and reach of ADR in the execution of government programs entrusted to agencies by Congress, including regulatory enforcement, adjudication of claims, and administering benefits or reimbursing services such as provider fees. This Article begins to fill that gap.
Today, at least three dozen federal agencies publicly promote the use of ADR for their administrative programs. This Article presents that data for the first time. The project considers five fundamental aspects of agency ADR practice: the selection and implementation of the appropriate type of ADR and associated procedures; the qualifications and selection of agency ADR personnel; training of ADR staff; ADR case management practices; and interagency mechanisms to facilitate ADR and support agency ADR personnel.
Taken together, the Article makes three contributions. First, it lays out the legal framework for modern administrative-program ADR in federal agencies, along with some historical comparisons. Second, using an extensive and original qualitative empirical study, it describes agency ADR practices across the executive branch along five critical dimensions of ADR administration. Third, it develops conclusions and recommendations surrounding the uses of ADR in our administrative state
How Eastern Europe Can Protect Their Cultural Heritage via Copyright Protection of Folk Music and How This Compares to Copyright Protection of Music in the United States
Full text linkThis note explores the intricate interplay between cultural heritage preservation and copyright protection, focusing on the distinctive case of Eastern European folk music. It delves into the historical and cultural significance of Eastern European folk music traditions, the challenges posed to their preservation, and the copyright protection mechanisms in place across the region. In parallel, the paper provides an in-depth analysis of copyright protection in the United States, highlighting its implications for folk music.
The comparative analysis showcases the unique approaches of Eastern European nations and the United States in safeguarding their respective folk music heritages. By examining key case studies, this study uncovers the successes, limitations, and practical implications of the copyright protection strategies employed in both regions.
Furthermore, the note examines the role of international copyright agreements in shaping heritage preservation and explores the effects of copyright protection on cultural exchange and globalization. Through a thorough examination of the legal frameworks, case studies, and current challenges, this student note aims to provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between copyright and cultural heritage preservation, offering recommendations for the future direction of these efforts
Public Health Impacts and Intra-Urban Forced Displacement due to Climate Gentrification in the Greater Miami Area—Community Lawyering for Environmental Justice and Equitable Development
Full text linkBecause Miami-Dade County is “ground zero” for such climate effects as sea-level rise and increasingly hazardous, climate-driven Atlantic hurricanes, the coral rock ridge that runs along the Eastern coast of South Florida is a prime target for redevelopment and “climate” gentrification. Through a community and movement lawyering for environmental justice approach, we partnered with local community organizations to contribute to the ongoing work of community-driven equitable development. In partnership, we developed an environmental public health study to understand and document the public health effects on disadvantaged communities in Miami-Dade County from forced intra-urban displacement due to redevelopment that is being influenced by elevation concerns. We disseminated an online survey to examine environmental hazards, housing conditions, threat of displacement, and current mental and physical health status. We collected seventy-four responses between August 2021 and August 2022. The Qualtrics survey consisted of twenty-five questions to determine the breadth and extent of mental and physical health impacts due to threats of forced displacement related to redevelopment along the coral rock ridge. We assessed movement into and out of areas of gentrification in Miami-Dade County and any correlations with health impacts and forced displacement due to environmental housing conditions and redevelopment in these areas. Migration patterns by zip code and elevation were analyzed using data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and served to supplement and cross-validate geographical data and existing literature that showed a pattern of migration and movement in line with climate gentrification. This work was used to develop and support policies with the potential to slow down the rapid gentrification along the rock ridge and mitigate the process of forced displacement occurring amongst the environmental justice communities living there
Evolving Legal Conceptions of “Energy Communities”
Full text linkThe concept of “energy communities” has had long-standing and evolving significance in the United States and in other countries around the world. Under the Biden Administration, the term “energy communities” has acquired new legal meanings that differ by context and continue to evolve. This Article traces the shifting meaning of “energy communities” and examines how it relates to other dominant references to “communities” in the context of energy law and policy, including environmental justice, low-income, underserved, and disadvantaged communities, as well as newer community-scale energy system innovations, such as community solar or “advanced energy communities.” International comparisons, such as with the European Union’s Citizen Energy Community and Renewable Energy Community concepts, provide context for thinking about the role of energy/community linkages in the clean energy transition. In tracing these related conceptions, this Article shows that significant variability currently exists across energy community models and sees this variability as a strength. As the energy sector shifts from fossil fuel dominance toward increasingly distributed models for meeting energy demand, this Article cautions policymakers to avoid anchoring legal conceptions of “energy communities” too firmly to the past, so that the broad concept can continue to drive innovation in community-scale energy systems. Ideally, legal frameworks can favor flexible definitions sufficient to create adaptable and effective transition support regimes without limiting the potential for reimagining the “energy communities” of the future
