Law Review Symposium to Highlight 'The Public Trust Doctrine: 30 Years Later'

One of the most controversial and important principles of American environmental law will be the subject of "The Public Trust Doctrine: 30 Years Later," the 2011 UC Davis Law Review Symposium.  The event will begin on March 4 at 9 am in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom. 

Professor Richard Frank, symposium faculty adviser to the Law Review, said he proposed the topic in part to mark the 30th anniversary of a previous UC Davis School of Law symposium that helped establish the public trust doctrine in California law.  Several articles presented at that symposium and published in the Law Review were cited in the state Supreme Court's precedent-setting decision in National Audubon Society v. Superior Court, he said

"The 1980 UC Davis symposium had a catalytic effect on the development of public trust doctrine in California and across the nation.   I suggested this is a good and timely opportunity to re-open the dialogue, and hopefully help to reinvigorate the public trust doctrine as a cornerstone of environmental law in California and beyond," said Frank.

The public trust doctrine is a legal principle with roots in Roman Law that holds that certain natural resources such as water, the banks of rivers, and ocean shorelines are not subject to private ownership and must be managed and preserved for public use.  It has played a significant-and controversial-role in California environmental law, particularly with regard to water rights.  The doctrine was used as the basis for preserving Mono Lake in the 1983 California Supreme Court decision and has figured prominently in numerous subsequent cases involving water rights, public access to waterways, and resource conservation.  The doctrine has also come under attack from those who claim it enabled the government to violate their rights as property owners and water right holders.

Among the many experts set to discuss the issues involved will be Joseph Sax, the retired UC Berkeley Professor of Law often credited as spearheading the establishment of the public trust doctrine in American environmental law; Justice Ronald B. Robie of the California Court of Appeals, Third District; and Professor Frank, who is Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.

In addition to opening remarks from Professor Frank and closing comments from Joseph Sax, the symposium will include panel discussions on "The Public Trust Doctrine: Adapting an Old Doctrine to New Concerns" at 9:30 am; "A Practitioner's Perspective" at 11:00 am; "The Public Trust Doctrine and Water Interests in California" at 1:15 pm; and "Exploring the Legal Foundations of the Doctrine: Implications on the Future" at 3:00 pm. 

The event is hosted by the UC Davis Law Review, ranked 31st among legal periodicals in the United States.  For more information, including a full listing of panel participants, please visit http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/symposia/2011.