Recently, in Intellectual Laziness on the Supreme Court, a short essay about the Supreme Court’s recent Equal Protection decision about unequal property assessments, Professor Richard Epstein wrote, “[i]t’s time to scrap the irrational ‘rational basis test.'” Decisions like the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Samson v. City of Bainbridge Island, No. 10-35352
9th Circuit: Hawaii’s Regulation Of Commercial Beach Weddings Does Not Violate First Amendment, Except…
This just in: the Ninth Circuit has issued an opinion in Kaahumanu v. State of Hawaii Dep’t of Land and Natural Resources, No. 10-15645 (June 6, 2012), the case challenging the State’s regulation of commercial weddings on state beaches under the First Amendment. The court mostly upheld the regulations, but struck down the
11th Cir: Property Owners Should Use Self-Help To Evict Private Beach Trespassers (Because Florida Self-Help Laws Always Work Out So Well)
In a per curiam unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal in Crystal Dunes Owners Ass’n v. City of Destin, No. 2011-14595 (Apr. 17, 2012) (per curiam opinion here, or below).
The plaintiffs own a strip of private beach in Destin, Florida. If the
Texas (Again) Affirms Property Rights: No “Rolling Easement” On Beaches
Today, the Texas Supreme Court issued opinions in Severance v. Patterson, No. 09-0387, the case before the court on certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit asked whether Texas recognizes a “rolling” beachfront access easement (a public easement on littoral property that moves with naturally caused
Trickle-Down Regulation: Environmental Maze Becomes “Stumbling Block” For The Little Guys
There’s a feature story in today’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Red tape ties up groups’ fishpond restorations,” about a local caretaker group’s frustration with “government rules” they claim are thwarting their efforts to fix up a traditional littoral fishpond.
For those of you not familiar with these centuries-old aquacultural structures designed to catch
Justice Lynn “Buck” Compton
Gideon Kanner reminds us of the passing of retired California Court of Appeal Justice Lynn “Buck” Compton, famous of late for his exploits as a hard-charging paratrooper in World War II (L.A. Times story here). Gideon writes about Justice Compton’s time on the bench:
No, we aren’t going to wax lyrical about the
Book Review: Callies, Regulating Paradise (2d ed. 2010)
Professor Patricia E. Salkin (of the Law of the Land blog) has written this review of Professor David Callies’ Regulating Paradise: Land Use Controls in Hawaii (2d ed. 2010). The review is in the latest edition of the Urban Lawyer (43 Urb. Lawyer 1107 (2011)), the law review published by the ABA’s Section of
New Article: Judicial Takings or Due Process? (Cornell Law Review)
In our law review article on Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Fla. Dep’t of Environmental Protection, 103 S. Ct. 2592 (2010), we predicted that “the fractured opinions in the case will be a boon for academics who may continue the search for the ‘takings quark’ (if not woodchucks) in the pages of law
New Article: Bringing a Judicial Takings Claim (Stanford Law Review)
A recently-published Note from the Stanford Law Review: Josh Patashnik, Bringing a Judicial Takings Claim, 64 Stan. L. Rev. 255 (Jan. 2012). Here’s the abstract:
This Note seeks to answer a set of questions prompted by the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Hawaii Water Law Conference (Jan. 11, 2012)
There is still time to join us for the upcoming Hawaii Water Law conference, to be held in Honolulu on January 11, 2012. I am the planning co-chair along with Jesse Souki, Director of the State of Hawaii Office of Planning.
In addition to Jesse and me, we’ve assembled a diverse and talented