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Free Trade Agreements and the Lacey Act: A Carrot and Stick Approach to Prevent and Deter Trade in IUU Fisheries
Get PDFThe U.S. is the world’s largest importer of seafood, importing virtually every fish sold in the U.S. market. Trade statistics do not break down the percentage of imported wild harvested fish, but a recent study estimated that twenty to thirty-two percent are caught illegally. Trade in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fisheries undermines efforts to conserve fish stocks, generates global annual losses of up to twenty-three billion dollars, and weakens economic opportunity for U.S. fishermen. Part I of this paper explains the role of different actors in the trade of duty-free IUU fish and how IUU catches may enter the U.S. market due to the states’ failure to implement mechanisms that allow the U.S. to monitor fishing activities and landing of fish. Part II outlines key elements of three international instruments—Cooperative Environmental Clauses of FTAs, FAO Guidelines for ecolabelling of wild fish, and the PSMA—that, despite their non-binding effect, may prevent IUU fisheries from entering foreign markets. Part III proposes a carrot and stick solution to the trade in IUU fisheries problem
Florida\u27s Downtowns Are Free To Grow Local Broccoli…And Chickens (Sometimes)
Get PDFThe United States Supreme Court in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (Sebelius), famously invoked broccoli to limit the scope of Commerce Clause. All of the Justices used broccoli as a plot device to further their respective arguments answering whether the individual mandate to buy health insurance was constitutional. This article discusses the other end of the economic spectrum – local. We explicate Florida’s local government regulations of urban planting, growing, and selling of broccoli, as well as other fruits, vegetables, and animals. This requires a history of urban agriculture and local zoning laws before we discuss current laws and suggest future directions
Wrongful Confictions and Due Process Violations
Get PDFThis analytical essay looks at the myriad of ways innocent people are wrongfully convicted and how the criminal justice system fails to truly reach a fair and equitable result. The article looks at how at the initial stages of a criminal proceeding, a defendant can be prejudiced to the point of sufficient harm to his chances at being given a fair and impartial judicial proceeding. This article examines how fatal mistakes can be made and reveals that there can be flaws in the science of DNA testing, including fraud, criminologist bias, improper laboratory procedures, and human error. This article seeks to point out major factors that can contribute to an innocent individual being erroneously convicted of a crime and how that happens more times than one may think
Bombs and Babies: The Unfortunate Results of Conversion of a Military Defense Site to a Residential Neighborhood
Get PDFDuring World War II, the U.S. Army used over 12,000 acres inwhat is now the eastern edge of the City of Orlando as a gunnery, bombtraining, and military demonstration range. Due to its close proximity tothe Orlando Army Air Base (now Orlando Executive Airport) and thePinecastle Army Airfield (now Orlando International Airport), thisproperty was perfectly located for airborne target practice. The area,known as the Pinecastle Jeep Range was intentionally bombarded withexplosive and chemical bombs, rockets, bullets, scrap metal, and evenan old Jeep! After the war, the Army terminated its lease and theproperty was sold to various private and public interests. Yet, the Armyfailed to clean the military debris, or even to verify whether unexplodedbombs were properly removed, prior to abandoning the property
Improving Substantive and Procedural Protections for Indigenous Rights in REDD+ Projects: Possible Lessons from Brazil
Get PDFNations around the world are beginning to acknowledge that climate change is an imminent threat to our planet and are responding with mitigation efforts. REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation plus) may be a way to minimize the deforestation that has lead to the increased greenhouse gas emissions causing a change in our global climate. Although REDD+ is one the leading proposals to address climate change, it lends itself to potentially harmful effects on indigenous people, if the regulating nation does not possess adequate policy for protections of their indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face the challenge of safeguarding access to their lands and the surrounding forests. In Brazil, there have been issues regarding who has property rights to the rainforest, and because of Brazil’s current legal framework, ambiguity regarding land tenure rights is the greatest obstacle to overcome when implementing successful REDD+ programs. As demonstrated in Colombia, the enumeration of specific environmental rights in their newest Constitution has effectively acknowledged indigenous rights and specific autonomy in land rights to their communities, thus requiring equal treatment and guaranteeing respect for indigenous cultures. Is constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples’ land tenure rights enough to ensure a successful implementation of REDD+ programs? If so, can Brazil effectively balance the need to implement climate change mitigation efforts while upholding indigenous people’s sacred ties to their lands? This paper examines how Brazil can prepare itself for an Indigenous REDD+ by modeling the implementation and enforcement of its current legal framework after that of Colombia
Professional Women Silenced by Men-Made Norms
Get PDFThe call of this symposium was for articles regarding women\u27s rights and the movement toward equality. We are still wrestling with what equality should mean. In this Article, when I refer to equality I envision it as both a strategy and as the end goal. Equality as a strategy means assessing the inherent inequalities of particular situations and using the means necessary to remedy the inequalities and achieve equality as the end goal. The end goal is for women (with all our complexities and intersectionalities) to achieve the same rights and results as men (with all their complexities and intersectionalities) and to be free from all forms of discrimination. Women continue to face injustices in the workplace that make it difficult to attain equality
Comment on Maxine Burkett\u27s Rehabilitation: A Proposal for a Climate Compensation Mechanism for Small Island States
Get PDFTake Back the Beach! An Analysis of the Need for Enforcement of Beach Access Rights for U.S. Virgin Islanders
Get PDFPart I of this paper defines the traditional use of the beaches in the U.S. Virgin Islands and includes a personal anecdote as evidence of a trend toward restricting beach access in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Part II provides a legal framework of public beach access rights through an analysis of the general public trust doctrine, the U.S. Virgin Islands Open Shorelines Act, and the U.S. Virgin Islands’ case law. Part III examines case studies involving private entities blocking beach access to the public in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Part IV offers a proposal for reform to ensure protection of the public’s right of access to the beautiful beaches of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Executive Action On Immigration: Constitutional or Direct Conflict?
Get PDFOn November 20, 2014, the White House released a press statement notifying viewers that President Obama would do everything within his executive powers to solve the problems surrounding the immigration system. The White House made it clear that the President would be acting with legal authority in taking these steps. This paper addresses whether or not the Obama Administration did, in fact, act with legal authority by initiating the following steps using his executive authority: “cracking down on illegal immigration at the border; deporting felons, not families; and accountability through criminal background checks and taxes.” President Obama, acting through Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, had two primary objectives in issuing executive actions on immigration. The first was to expand the already-enacted policy under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The second was to create a new program for a new class of citizens, called the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.
Due to the communications by the President and the actions of Secretary Johnson, the issue of existing legal authority to expand DACA and create DAPA still remains. To answer this question, this paper analyzes the expansion of DACA, creation of DAPA, the courts’ responses to these measures, and the constitutional framework of executive action. In the end, applying the framework to President Obama’s actions will show that the President did not act within his legal authority, and thereby violated the United States Constitution