Natural Resource Property Customs

In an era of space exploration, e-commerce, and internet, the United States follows the same Civil War-era mining law, enacted prior to the invention of the lightbulb and automobile. This article examines the history of American natural resource customs in mining systems and how those customary property traditions ultimately led to our current mining laws.

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Party Autonomy and the Challenge of Choice of Law

This essay argues that party autonomy does not have one comprehensive justification, but that it might be justified by a set of distinct if overlapping arguments that point to vital ideas often overlooked in the contemporary conversation. If choice of law doctrine embraces party autonomy, it might be in part because its shapers instinctively and inchoately recognize those considerations.

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Teaching Indian Law in the 21st Century

In the 21st century, many law schools offer Indian law but generally are still far behind the curve. Worse, when it is offered, the Indian law canon tends to be taught in ways that ignore contemporary tribal agency by emphasizing historical events over modern issues. This article gives examples of tribal court cases and tribal statutes law teachers can use to incorporate Indian law into virtually any common law course.

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Sidewalk Government

This Article is the first to systematically examine the incoherence of the property law of sidewalks and of the fragmented regulatory architecture that municipalities have built to manage them. The Article demonstrates how both legal regimes have in fact deepened sidewalk conflict and have confused and undermined accountability for the quality and accessibility of the sidewalks.

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