Owen L. Anderson, A Tribute to Nawzad Yasin and Others: Part 2: Others, 6 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 373 (2021)
Part 1 of this essay discusses the short but remarkable life of Nawzad Yasin. Part 2 discusses the careers of my former students who serve as full-time academics. In addition, this part includes a former student who is a retired academic, a former student who is currently teaching part-time and hopes to teach full-time upon earning her Ph.D., and a former student who hopes to teach full-time after earning her Ph.D. and fulfilling a professional obligation to her employer that funded her Ph.D. studies.(Christine Fritze was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma, “The Indian Capital of the Nation,” and the sixth of eight children in a post-World War II, middle class, devout Roman Catholic home. She attributes growing up in a large Catholic home as having a significant impact on her practice of law and on her teaching.)
Lee DeHihns, Sometimes We Need to Look Back to See What's Needed Going Forward, Nat. Resources & Env't, at 3 (Summer 2021)
We are called to action by that Resolution. If we are to follow President Roosevelt's and Mr. Nelson's warnings, we have much work to do. The ABA has the practical expertise to ensure that sustainability is a part of everything we do. We must educate both our profession and our society about sustainability. Finally, we have the passion for justice that is indispensable in making the sustainability movement successful. Lawyers can contribute significantly by ensuring that their clients and collaborating entities, whether courts, government agencies, businesses, civil society organizations, or private individuals, are aware of sustainability concerns and conduct their activities consistent with relevant laws and regulations. As Pope Francis said in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, “Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us.”
Energy Bar Association, In Memoriam: Judge Joseph R. Nacy, 41 Energy L.J. XXII (2020)
Judge Nacy was a proud Army Veteran, devoted Catholic, and loving family man who enjoyed running and competing in local races. He served in the 2nd Platoon Company C, 1268th Engineer Combat Battalion in WWII in the European Theatre of Operations and at Luzon, Philippine Islands. He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant in 1946.
D. Brian Scarnecchia, Why Rights are Wrong in ASEAN and Beyond: A Critique of the Foundations of Universal Human Rights, 26 (2021): 283 -311.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a battleground, one theatre in what Pope Francis has referred to as a “World War” where universal human rights, ersatz rights, and Asian values clash. Its people seek to escape old style Asian dictators while at the same time ward off a new ideological colonisation. Part One of this article provides a brief overview of the development of ASEAN and its human rights mechanisms. Part Two then examines whether the original axiomatic listing of human rights or an iteration of human rights founded upon the human genome or a Kantian underpinning can legitimise human rights and, if not, whether reference to the human soul made in the image of God with its natural law may substantiate the human rights project, perhaps, articulated as congruent with the purpose and design courts now recognise in the natural laws found in every ecosystem of nature. Part Three contends that aspects of the public trust doctrine, i.e., the natural use principle and the precautionary principle, are analogous to natural law principles and, because ‘the book of nature is one”, these environmental law principles may help jurists to recognise a theory of natural law liability in order to promote and defend authentic human rights. Finally, the author recommends that NGOs of Catholic Inspiration should, when appropriate, appeal to immaterial realities, God and the human soul, as a firm foundation of human rights and, also, when appropriate, advance in domestic, regional and international venues a theory of natural law liability based on environmental law principles in order to promote and defend authentic human rights.
Lucia A. Silecchia, A "Directed Trust" Approach to Intergenerational Solidarity in American Environmental Law and Policy: A Modest Proposal, 45 Wm. & Mary Envtl. L. & Pol'y Rev. 377 (2021)
The Article will then propose that one approach to making ancient trust theory more useful as a way to protect environmental resources is to incorporate, in some manner, the modern concept of a “trust director” or “directed trust” function into the environmental regulatory regime. It will first discuss what a “directed trust” means in the private trust context. Then, it will explore some of the reasons such a model may be of use in the complex realm of environmental protection. Finally, it will acknowledge that while the precise mechanism by which this might be done is not entirely clear, the concept of conferring on some entity specific powers over alleged trust resources and the actions, vel non, of the trustees, is worth bringing to the complex field of environmental protection. Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
John I. Winn, JD, LLM, J. Seth Chatfield, Ph. D, MBA, MPH, & Kevin H. Govern, JD, LLM, Medical Volunteers During Pandemics, Disasters, and Other Emergencies: Management Best Practices, 11 Seattle J. Tech., Envtl. & Innovation L. 282 (2021)
Disaster preparedness is a fundamental obligation of every hospital.1 Major emergencies can result in vastly increased demand2 for clinical and non-clinical staff. Managing volunteer-related legal issues during a disaster may be difficult or even impossible. Careful preparation is essential for the successful integration of volunteers during a surge in patients.3 Efficiently onboarding skilled and unskilled volunteers allows current providers and first responders to remain focused on triage, critical care, and specialized patient needs. In some instances, volunteers may be the only personnel available to fill essential functions when organic resources cannot fully respond to peak demand. Volunteers can also fill gaps if current staff are unable to report for duty because of mandated quarantine periods or restricted travel conditions. Regular employees may even refuse to *283 report out of fear of contracting an infectious disease, dangerous travel conditions, or other concerns.4 Treating or evacuating large numbers of elderly, medically-frail, or chronically-sick patients5 may not be possible at all without volunteers. A viable Emergency Operations Plan (EOP),6 consistent with the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) should contemplate the potential necessity of volunteer medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists, as well as key support positions that include but are not limited to interpreters, chaplains, office workers, legal advisors and others.7 Volunteer partners may include non-credentialed but otherwise qualified clinicians as well as non-clinicians from the surrounding area. Supplemental staff may be sourced from community clinics, health departments, EMT-fire departments, or law enforcement agencies. Volunteers may also be provided by local non-profits such as American Red Cross, Salvation Army, food kitchens, churches, or others.8
Recent experience indicates healthcare facilities that fail to plan and respond adequately to emergency conditions may be held liable for resulting patient or staff harm.9 The continuous threat posed by natural disasters, communicable diseases, or bio-terrorism has revolutionized hospital planning. Following Hurricane Katrina, there was no coordinated system for recruiting, deploying, and managing volunteers to help deal with the crisis.10 Thousands of healthcare professionals and other volunteers from New York City and surrounding communities responded in the hours and days following the 9/11 attack.11 Preparation for worst-case scenarios involves consideration of all reasonable measures to mitigate the *284 risk that responding volunteers may harm others12 or injure themselves. Injured volunteers might also seek to file lawsuits themselves against host facilities. A well-conceived plan for incorporating volunteers within an EOP could significantly enhance liability protection for facilities, providers, and others who act in good faith conformity with the plan.13
