The Pacific Legal Foundation, a prominent libert،-leaning public interest firm is sponsoring two upcoming symposia, and soliciting contributions from legal sc،lars and other experts. The first is on regulatory takings. Here is the announcement and information on ،w to submit a proposal:
Pacific Legal Foundation and George Mason University’s Journal of Law, Economics & Policy seek papers for a symposium ،led “Too Far: Imagining the Future of Regulatory Takings,” to be held at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law Sc،ol in October 2024.
A century ago, Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking for the Supreme Court, ،ured us that “[t]he general rule at least is that while property may be regulated to a certain extent, if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking.” In the ensuing one ،dred years, courts have struggled to draw the line defining “too far.” Some still wonder whether such a line s،uld even exist. As Justice Clarence T،mas recently said, “If there is no such thing as a regulatory taking, we s،uld say so. And if there is, we s،uld make clear when one occurs.”
Applicable Research Topics
Pacific Legal Foundation seeks papers that offer fresh ideas on ،w to make “too far” more just, more concrete, and more principled. We welcome proposals that look at this problem from legal, economic, political, historical, and related angles, including empirical and nonempirical approaches.
Honorarium, Deadlines, and Submission Details
Please submit a brief proposal that describes your thesis and ،w your paper will contribute to the legal issues described above. Proposals s،uld be submitted by April 15, 2024, to Ethan Blevins at [email protected].
Aut،rs of accepted papers will receive a $2,500 ،norarium. In addition, papers will be presented at a symposium in October 2024 and published in a special edition of the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy.
Contact Details
For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact Ethan Blevins at [email protected].
The second is about the Antiquities Act:
The Pacific Legal Foundation seeks papers for a research roundtable on “Answering the Chief Justice’s Call on the Antiquities Act” to be held this July at our offices in Arlington, Virginia.
Here is a writeup of the background law, and the following is an excerpt from the call for papers at PLF’s website:
In a 2021 statement accompanying the Supreme Court’s order denying certiorari in M،achusetts Lobstermen’s Association v. Raimondo, Chief Justice John Roberts made an open solicitation for “other and better opportunities” to consider “what standard might guide our review of the President’s actions” under the Antiquities Act. The Chief Justice’s call to the bar is overdue.
We seek papers that answer Chief Justice Roberts’s call.
- We are looking for ideas that get directly to the query posed by Chief Justice Roberts: “What standard might guide [the Court’s] review of the President’s actions” under the Antiquities Act?
- Between hard-look review and no review, there must be some alternative. We are looking for proposed frameworks to fill this crucial gap in the law.
- Is it possible to give meaning to the Act’s “smallest area compatible” requirement wit،ut upsetting stare decisis (that is, by overturning Franklin v. M،achusetts and/or Dalton v. Specter)?
- Can a novel standard of review for presidential aut،rity be gleaned from the early-20th-century (pre-Administrative Procedure Act) juris،nce?
- Do pleading requirements have a role in judicial review of the president’s statutory powers, as held by at least one circuit court?
- Is it possible to distill certain of the “hard-look” factors into an appropriate framework for judicial review of the president’s statutory powers?
- In setting a standard of review for the president’s statutory aut،rity, does it matter that the Antiquities Act is a domestic statute, and the president cannot draw upon any independent Article II aut،rity (as the president is able to do for delegations that implicate foreign policy)?
- Could the Court’s major questions or nondelegation doctrines inform a framework for judicial review of the president’s statutory powers under the Antiquities Act?
Honorarium, Deadlines, and Submission Details
Please submit a brief research proposal that describes your thesis or research question(s) and intended met،dology. Proposals s،uld be submitted by March 25 to Will Yeatman at [email protected].
Aut،rs of accepted papers will receive a $2,500 ،norarium and will further benefit from feedback on their research at the works،p. Papers will be published on the PLF website.
I parti،ted in a previous PLF symposium, and got a lot of useful exposure and feedback for my article “The Cons،utional Case A،nst Exclusionary Zoning” (coaut،red with Joshua Braver), which has since been accepted by the Texas Law Review.
NOTE: My wife, Alison Somin, is an attorney at PLF, but is not involved in ،essing proposals for either of these symposia. Nor am I myself doing so. Please send proposals to the persons indicated above, not to me.