Environmental

Discussion — 3 units.  This course provides an overview of the structure and basic principles of international environmental law and policy. The course considers the challenge of addressing global environmental problems in a system characterized by multiple sovereign governments, the regulatory limitations of U.S. law, and the basic structure and principles of international environmental law, as well as substantive areas such as climate change, biodiversity and wildlife protection, and the intersection of international trade and the environment. 

Discussion — 2 units. This course addresses administrative, legislative, and judicial applications of California’s wide range of land use planning and development laws. It also covers the local agencies, developers, environmental groups, businesses, and countless others who shape decisions about land use in California. Topics include zoning, general plans, local government land use regulation, the California Environmental Quality Act, and related areas of litigation.

Discussion — 3 units. This course introduces students to the economic analysis of law. Students will learn to use the tools of economic analysis (marginal cost and benefit, supply and demand, opportunity cost, etc.) to illuminate and critique familiar areas of law, including property, contracts, torts, and criminal law. Throughout the course, students will consider how economic analysis complements and conflicts with other concerns of the legal system, including fairness and efficiency.  The course does not require any background in economics.

Discussion — 3 units. There are roughly 80,000 local government entities in the United States which provide essential services and spend billions of dollars. This course takes a broad approach to state and local government law, both practically and theoretically. Topics to be covered include: federalism, relations between states and localities, governmental liability, zoning, educational equity, and public finance. Readings will be drawn not only from case law and statues, but from history, theory and public policy.

Seminar — 3 units. The seminar focuses on legal relations between Native nations and the federal and state governments in the United States. The course will consider tribal sovereignty in light of the jurisdictional conflicts that dominate this area of law, including specific areas such as land rights, hunting and fishing rights, family law, gaming regulation, taxation, sacred sites, and criminal law. The course will also consider historical and critical perspectives, constitutional issues pertaining to tribes, and questions of federal policy.

Discussion — 2 or 3 units.

Discussion — 2 or 3 units. Water supply, use, infrastructure, and organizations; rights in surface waters, including riparian rights, prior appropriation, and federal reserved rights; environmental and constitutional constraints on water use; groundwater rights and management; drought and emergency water curtailment; interaction of state and federal law; contemporary case studies and challenges; water equity considerations.

Final Assessment: Paper
Grading Mode:  Letter Grading
 

Discussion — 2 units. Introduction to the field of environmental justice. We will cover the origins and history of the Environmental Justice movement; Environmental Justice’s distinctive approach to lawyering, with an emphasis on building power rather than winning cases; and an introduction to important topics in environmental justice, including siting of locally unwanted land uses; community-based research; the connections between Environmental Justice and the planning and public health professions; and global climate change.

Clinic — 4 units. The Aoki Water Justice Clinic partners with residents, community organizations, and drinking water providers to address the need for clean, affordable drinking water. Through weekly lecture, case rounds, and practical experience, students will gain an understanding of state and federal water governance and regulation, local government mechanisms for delivering drinking water, and the legal and financial barriers to implementing safe drinking water projects.

Clinic — 3 to 5 units. Students who have successfully completed one semester with the Water Justice Clinic may enroll in the Advanced Water Justice Clinic. Students must attend all case round and supervision meetings, complete at least 9 hours of clinical work per week, and undertake a significant research project. Depending on the nature of the project, students may also be able to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Application required for enrollment.