Nov 2009
A judicial taking?
November 24, 2009 07:59 AM Filed in: Federal
Constitutional Law | Real
Property
Today's Washington Post has a story about an
interesting case in which certain property owners
claim that Florida's beach restoration program has
resulted in a "judicial taking," because their homes
are no longer waterfront properties. (Click here.) The U.S. Supreme Court
hears arguments in the case next week. "Justices
will examine a concept they have pondered for
more than 40 years without resolution: whether a
decision by the judicial branch, rather than the
executive or legislative, can create the kind of
taking of private property forbidden by the
Constitution." The case is Stop the Beach
Renourishment Inc. v. Florida Department of
Environmental Protection.
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Google Scholar
November 17, 2009 04:50 PM Filed in: Legal
Information
Ernest Svenson (a/k/a Ernie the Attorney) has a good
piece today (click here) about Google Scholar (click
here), which includes free access
to federal and state case law from 1990 forward.
Ernie writes, "[g]ranted, it's not perfect (did
I mention that yet?). But the point is not
that Google has failed to achieve the lawyer's
dream of a perfect legal research tool.
Rather it's that: Google has taken the
initiative of making caselaw available for free.
Why can't the government do this?
(Apparently no one there knows about HTML and
the Internet.) But I'm grateful that Google has
taken this step, which I hope leads to other
developments that will make all caselaw
available online."
A fish story
November 10, 2009 05:48 AM Filed in: Local
Government
Today's Wall Street Journal has an interesting
article about a dispute on Long Island concerning the
right to fish without a license (click here).
"Six Long Island towns, including Southampton, Shelter Island and East Hampton, have joined in a lawsuit against the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, charging that it has no authority to require fishing licenses without their consent. At least three other towns may join."
"The fracas began on Oct. 1, when New York, in response to new federal policies, required for the first time that recreational anglers have a license to fish in saltwater. The state has required a commercial license since 1984."
What's most interesting to me about the case is that the lawsuit is based upon a 313-year old document, the Dongan Patent.
"In 1686, the British governor of the royal colony of New York, Thomas Dongan, granted the patent, a kind of town charter, putting responsibility for public land and waterways in several East End towns in the hands of locally elected trustees. The New York state constitution preserved that contract in 1777, amid the War for Independence from Britain. That means, according to the current trustees, the state has no authority to impose regulation on town property, which includes the bottom of town inlets and bays."
"Six Long Island towns, including Southampton, Shelter Island and East Hampton, have joined in a lawsuit against the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, charging that it has no authority to require fishing licenses without their consent. At least three other towns may join."
"The fracas began on Oct. 1, when New York, in response to new federal policies, required for the first time that recreational anglers have a license to fish in saltwater. The state has required a commercial license since 1984."
What's most interesting to me about the case is that the lawsuit is based upon a 313-year old document, the Dongan Patent.
"In 1686, the British governor of the royal colony of New York, Thomas Dongan, granted the patent, a kind of town charter, putting responsibility for public land and waterways in several East End towns in the hands of locally elected trustees. The New York state constitution preserved that contract in 1777, amid the War for Independence from Britain. That means, according to the current trustees, the state has no authority to impose regulation on town property, which includes the bottom of town inlets and bays."