Professor Frank Speaks on ESA and Delta Smelt

On June 14, Visiting Lecturer Richard Frank participated in a formal debate hosted by the California Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento.  The debate focused on the question of whether the federal Endangered Species Act violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution as it applies to the Delta Smelt fish species inhabiting the California Delta.  An attorney from the Pacific Legal Foundation argued that the ESA contravenes the Commerce Clause, while Professor Frank took the position that the statute as applied to the Delta Smelt is constitutional.

Professor Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is Executive Director of the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment at UC Berkeley and a Visiting Lecturer at King Hall.