Professor Frank Files Brief in Ninth Circuit Water Law Case

On April 20, Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank '74 filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Walker River Irrigation District, an important water law case. 

The issues in the case are: 1) whether the public trust doctrine applies to limit water diversions from Nevada's Walker River that harm the ecosystem of the Walker River watershed; and 2) if so, whether application of the public trust to limit water diversions and thereby protect environmental values triggers a compensable taking of privately-held water rights under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Professor Frank's brief, co-authored with Hastings College of the Law Professor David Owen, answers the first question in the affirmative, the second in the negative.  The friend-of-the-court brief was filed on behalf of approximately 35 water law professors from throughout the United States.  Professor Frank was ably assisted in this pro bono litigation project by King Hall 2L and research assistant Victoria Bogdan-Tejada.

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