University of Houston Law Center Faculty Blog : University of Houston Law Center Faculty Blog

I have spent the better part of four years studying proposed US climate change legislation, state and local climate actions, the roll-out of the Kyoto Protocol and the implementation of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. I have written about the large scale issues that must be considered in federal legislation, and looked in depth at some of the issues surrounding offsets and trading, and have recently published op-eds and blogged on the way the Waxman-Markey bill deals with offsets. I have just finished co-teaching a graduate level course in carbon trading that explored many of the issues surrounding how a cap and trade system for greenhouse gases could work. I know that any attempt to control greenhouse gases through a market is complicated and difficult, but I also believe that this is the only way forward.

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Say what you will about the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for the Republican Vice Presidential slot, but one inarguable fact remains: she is the only candidate on either ticket with direct energy policy experience. Palin spent one year as chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and as governor of Alaska she has received positive reviews for her work on energy issues ranging from natural gas pipeline construction to patchy statewide shortages of energy. But if she winds up as our Vice President, her Alaskan energy experience might help send our nation’s energy policy in exactly the wrong direction. 

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Who should derive revenue from remote DVR systems? According to a panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the revenue should not go to the content providers. This decision, grounded in three very narrow interpretations of the Copyright Act, works a shift of potentially significant revenue away from content providers. Hopefully, it will be challenged and reversed on rehearing.

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Many environmental organizations were stunned recently when the D.C. Circuit vacated the EPA’s implementation of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (“CAIR”) in North Carolina v. EPA. According to the Court, the CAIR failed to follow Clean Air Act (“CAA”) statutory mandates. Continue Reading...

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Legions of aspiring lawyers recently sat for licensing exams administered by their respective state bars.  Was it worth the effort?  Here's my take. Continue Reading...

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It is time once again for the discussion about whether students should be permitted to pack heat on a college campus.  See http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5885729.html.  

My thoughts on this issue have not changed.  As was stated in the op-ed I wrote (see below), allowing students to carry guns on a Texas college’s campus is a dangerous threat to higher education in Texas...

 

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Imagine what would happen if an American President were to persuade Congress to abolish the Act of State doctrine. Presumably, the President would follow this step by “tough negotiations” conducted with the Saudis, which would be convened either “with or without preconditions.” .

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Congress cannot obviate original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, but it can sometimes limit the jurisdiction of lower federal courts – but can it do so in such a manner as to unconstitutionally thwart “judicial power” based in the U.S. Constitution., Art. III? 

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According to Gary Born, International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts (3d ed, 1996), at 688, Sabbatino relied in significant part on domestic separation of powers considerations.  

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The NOPEC Bill, which passed the House, would have repealed the Act of State Doctrine with respect to the petroleum industry. The bill was defeated in the Senate. President Bush (unrelated) threatened a veto.  

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I wasn’t aware of the SD Texas case – was it brought by an affected party, or by the government? Does it raise the FSIA issue the of commercial activities exception to sovereign immunity? 

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As you know, the MOST recent lawsuit against OPEC is In Re Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1886, currently in the Southern District of Texas.  Of course, there are serious obstacles in terms of an antitrust suit against OPEC

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The last time OPEC was sued over price fixing (IAM v. OPEC, in the 1970s), the U.S. District Court ruled that OPEC lacked legal personality to be sued as an entity. 

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The academy, politicians, and environmental law nerds have been abuzz the last few days about the possibility of President Bush putting forward a climate change policy showing significant movement from his prior positions. I guess we can all harbor hope. If one was expecting any major policy pronouncement, however, one would have been sorely disappointed with yesterday’s Rose Garden ceremony.   

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George W. Bush became governor of Texas in 1994, when he upset the popular incumbent, Ann Richards. The following September, my client, Carl Johnson, was scheduled for execution.

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We wake up one morning and discover that a question we have been asking for the last decade or two may now be the wrong one. The question was: how can we use law to enable businesses to use e-commerce? The question now seems to be: how can we shape law to support e-commerce without over-regulating it?

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Can you be an environmentalist and a business supporter at the same time? Environmental groups believe it’s possible, even after decades of litigation and open warfare with business interests.  Continue Reading...

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Dear David, 

Of course the DOJ had clients.  We called them “the people.”

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Darren, the Stracher piece is a mild call for a corrective to a skewed educational system. Yes, there are occasions for intellectual debate in the law. But they are rare, compared to other things. Continue Reading...

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I read Stracher’s piece this morning, and was devastated to discover that being a lawyer is not about intellectual debate.  Continue Reading...

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With the Democrats retaking the House and Senate, the gay and lesbian community, like many interest groups, is hoping that issues important to it will be addressed. Though gay marriage seems to be the issue “du jour” for our community; in reality we should be paying attention to protection from employment discrimination. . .

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While Democrats celebrate their national victory and talk of a change in direction in Iraq, another important issue may have been decisive in the race for State District 134 here in Houston. Despite winning two previous terms in a Republican leaning state district, Republican Representative Martha Wong was decisively turned out of office on Nov. 7, in favor of Democratic candidate Ellen Cohen. Moreover the margin of victory surprised all of the pundits.  Did Martha Wong lose because she didn't protect Houston's environment?

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The New Jersey Supreme Court might have thought it was dropping a bombshell when it ruled that gay and lesbian committed couples deserved the same legal benefits as heterosexual married couples under the state’s constitution. But the justices achieved something else: they fired off a dud. Continue Reading...

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The airline industry has a term for what Houston wants to do about illegal immigrants and the crimes they commit. When pilots make the wrong decisions because of a real or perceived need to rush through their tasks, they are said to have experienced the “hurry-up syndrome.” Inevitably, the end result is a calamity. Continue Reading...

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A letter to four ranking Congressmen gets to the heart of the antitrust issues surrounding the supercharged plans involving airfields in Dallas.
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For too many years now, death penalty opponents have seized on the nightmare of executing an innocent man as a tactic to erode support for capital punishment in America. Innocence is a distraction. Continue Reading...

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