Great Lakes Law

Federal appeals court allows Flint residents’ claims against state officials for violation of the constitutional right to bodily integrity

In a win for Flint residents and environmental justice, the federal Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the actions of government – notably MDEQ officials and state-appointed emergency managers – “shocked the conscience” and may violate citizens’ right to bodily integrity as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. The court’s decision - Guertin v. Michigan, 912 F. 3d 907 (6th Cir. 2019) - reasons that water... Read more →

Indiana Supreme Court protects the public trust in Great Lakes shorelines – property owners petition U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari

The following guest post is by Jeffrey B. Hyman, Senior Staff Attorney with the Conservation Law Center in Bloomington, Indiana. Jeff is counsel for respondent/intervenors Alliance for the Great Lakes and Save the Dunes in the Gunderson v. State of Indiana litigation. Early this year the Indiana Supreme Court delivered a landmark public trust and equal footing decision in Gunderson v. State of Indiana. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that at statehood, under these doctrines,... Read more →

Supreme Court considers federal interests and powers in interstate water cases

The US Supreme Court issued a pair of opinions this term dealing with the role of the federal government in ongoing interstate water disputes: (1) Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado; and (2) Florida v. Georgia. The cases are before the Court under “original jurisdiction” - they are being heard on first impression rather than on appeal (although they have been reviewed and reported on by appointed Special Masters). Substantively, both cases involve disputes between... Read more →

Equal Justice Works Fellow Erin Mette joins the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center to focus on children’s health in Detroit and Flint

Equal Justice Works has awarded recent Wayne Law graduate (and former GLELC student fellow) Erin Mette a two-year fellowship to work with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center on urban children’s health. Erin’s project will focus on protecting children in Detroit and Flint from home-based environmental health hazards. As a staff attorney with GLELC, Erin will provide legal counseling and representation to affected families and work for policies that address the root causes of this... Read more →

New Second Edition of Modern Water Law – comprehensive text now includes human right to water

Our new Second Edition of Modern Water Law: Private Property, Public Rights, and Environmental Protections has been published by Foundation Press and is available on Amazon. Co-authored again with Robert Adler, the Jefferson B. and Rita E. Fordham Presidential Dean, and Robin Kundis Craig, the James I. Farr Presidential Endowed Chair of Law, both at the University of Utah College of Law. Modern Water Law provides a comprehensive text to study the range of legal... Read more →

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment presents 16 Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment in final report to UN Human Rights Council

Professor John Knox, a leading expert on international environmental and human rights law, is scheduled to present his final reports as Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment to the United Nations Human Rights Council this week. In July 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Professor Knox to a three-year mandate as its first Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy... Read more →

Environmental Justice in Practice - national conference at Wayne Law

Wayne Law is hosting a national conference on environmental justice Friday January 26, 2018. Environmental Justice in Practice features a superb line-up of advocates, attorneys, community leaders, organizers, and policy-makers. Panels will cover energy and climate justice, water access and affordability, urban air quality, and careers in environmental justice. The conference is co-sponsored by Wayne Law's Transnational Environmental Law Clinic and Environmental Law Society, CURES at Wayne State, the University of Chicago Law School's Abrams... Read more →

Open Source Property: A Free Casebook

I’m teaching property again this semester and have compiled a new book for my students, Open Source Property: A Free Casebook. As the title describes, the book is available under open source licensing, totally free and public. Students and anyone else can have it at no cost (except for the time and energy downloading a 650-page book) at http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/files/Open_Source_Property_Casebook_Hall.pdf. In 16 chapters, the book covers: 1. Ownership 2. Subject Matter of Property 3. Property in... Read more →

"Water Law" - new book explores private rights and public interests in freshwater

I have a new book out this year – it’s about water law and aptly named “Water Law.” Water Law: Concepts and Insights (full title) is another collaboration with Robin Kundis Craig, the James I. Farr Presidential Endowed Chair of Law, and Robert Adler, the Jefferson B. and Rita E. Fordham Presidential Dean, both at the University of Utah College of Law. (The cover photo of the Detroit River was taken from Belle Isle State... Read more →

Detroit Enacts New Ordinance to Protect Residents From Dust Pollution

Guest post by Great Lakes Environmental Law Center staff attorney Nick Leonard. On a summer day in July of 2013, a dangerous dark cloud of dust blew along the Detroit River between Windsor, Canada and Detroit. Video captured by an individual showed several people standing along the riverfront transfixed by the dust cloud as it completely obscured their view of the Ambassador Bridge, a normally omnipresent visual landmark for Detroit and Windsor residents alike. The... Read more →

Federal appeals court opens the door to Constitutional claims against state officials for dangerous and inaccessible drinking water in Flint

A federal appeals court has allowed two lawsuits by Flint residents against state officials for Constitutional violations arising from the Flint water crisis to go forward, giving victims a big legal win with even bigger implications. In Boler v. Earley and Mays v. Snyder, 865 F.3d 391 (6th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 583 U.S. __ (2018), the court held that alleged violations of substantive due process and equal protection could be brought in federal court... Read more →

A win for Great Lakes wolves in federal court

The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling striking down an attempt by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist Great Lakes wolves under the Endangered Species Act. Delisting the Great Lakes wolves would remove federal protections and open the wolves to state hunting seasons. (See this prior Great Lakes Law post on Michigan’s state-sanctioned wolf hunt.) In Humane Society v. Zinke, the federal court rejected the U.S. Fish... Read more →

Officials charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis

Recent criminal charges in the Flint water crisis allege the most serious felonies against the highest ranking officials yet. Most notably, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Along with Director Lyon, several previously charged officials – including former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith, and Water Supervisor Stephen Busch – have now been additionally charged with involuntary... Read more →