2006 Year in Review: Constitutional Law

American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources (2007)

7 Pages Posted: 11 Sep 2020

See all articles by James R. May

James R. May

Washburn University - Washburn University School of Law; Widener University Delaware Law School; Haub School of Law at Pace University

Date Written: January 15, 2007

Abstract

This chapter summarizes recent developments at the intersection of environmental, energy and natural resources law and the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional Law is playing an ever more prominent role in environmental law. In 2005, nearly two out of three federal environmental cases contained a constitutional issue. In 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court decided several important environmental cases involving constitutional questions, including those under the 5th Amendment and the Supremacy Clause. The Court is due to decide more cases that implicate environmental law during the 2005-06 term, including those containing threshold questions about the extent to which Congress can regulate activities that affect the environment under the Commerce Clause.

The chapter has seven parts. Part One reports developments concerning congressional and state authority under the Commerce Clause, including last term’s Gonzalez v. Raich, and two cases before the Court this term. Parts Two, Three and Four examine developments in the federal-state relationship under environmental law and the Constitution, including the 10th and 11th Amendments, and the Supremacy Clause. Part Five explains two cases the Court decided under the 5th Amendment, Kelo and Lingle. Parts Six and Seven address developments under Article III (standing) and the Due Process Clause.

Keywords: Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Energy Law, Climate Change, Constitutional Law

JEL Classification: K32

Suggested Citation

May, James, 2006 Year in Review: Constitutional Law (January 15, 2007). American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources (2007), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3682276 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3682276

James May (Contact Author)

Washburn University - Washburn University School of Law ( email )

1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621
United States

Widener University Delaware Law School ( email )

4601 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE 19803-0406
United States

Haub School of Law at Pace University ( email )

78 N. Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
27
Abstract Views
272
PlumX Metrics