The Law Does Not Have to be an Idiot

"Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained."

-- Aaron Burr


"Law is merely the expression of the will of the strongest for the time being."

-- Brooks Adams

Thanks to scoundrels like Antonin Scalia, the Constitution and our laws can seem inexorably weighted to the benefit of the corporate investor class (.01%). But the law is actually older and more flexible than the greedy few would have us believe.

Jeremy Brecher reminds us of the "Public Trust Doctrine" which is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some resources such as shorelines, running water, and the atmosphere, regardless of private property ownership. This doctrine goes back at least as far as the Roman Emperor, Justinian. It was substantiated in English Common Law and in US Case Law (Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892). Today in most states, lakes and navigable-in-fact streams are maintained for drinking and recreation purposes under a public-trust doctrine.

Brecher advocates extending the doctrine to justify direct action against the agents of climate change where civil disobedience becomes law enforcement, and the children are leading the way.

The rich are different from you and me. Having more money, they can chip away at hope and sustainability. But it's not because they're particularly evil. It more because they are Trump Stupid, and (often seeing themselves as victims) willfully blind to the consequences of their actions.