Professor Frank Helps Conduct Short Course on Water Law for State's Judges

Professor of Environmental Practice Rick Frank served on the faculty of a short course in water law sponsored by the California Judicial Council’s Center on Judicial Education and Research.  This course for judges from throughout California was held Nov. 17-18 in Sacramento. 

The course was organized and conducted in response to 2022 legislation enacted by the California Legislature — with active support from the Chief Justice of California, Tani Cantil-Sakauye ’84 — that specifically requested the judiciary organize and offer this course on an urgency and recurring basis.  The impetus for this priority training initiative is that a substantial increase in complex water litigation is expected due to climate change and California’s protracted, severe drought, together with numerous pending lawsuits over implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Frank taught five different modules of this two-day course.  He also recruited and interviewed two prominent UC Davis water scientists for prerecorded videos on surface and groundwater hydrology that the enrolled judges were asked to watch prior to the course.  (The California Judicial Council specifically requested that the water science training be incorporated into this judicial educational initiative.)

UC Davis was well-represented in this judicial education initiative.  In addition to Frank and the UCD water scientists, conference faculty included California Court of Appeal Justice Stacy Boulware-Eurie ’95 and McGeorge School of Law Professor Jennifer Harder ’98 —both King Hall alums.

Richard M. Frank ’74 is a leader in the field of environmental law, Professor of Environmental Practice and the founding director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.