Maritime Law › Constitutional Law

Offshore Fairness Act Proposes Extending States’ Offshore Jurisdiction

The offshore jurisdiction of states in the southeastern U.S. could triple in the relatively near future. Two Louisiana Congressmen, U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, recently introduced companion bills styled...more

Floating Homes Are Not Boats, Supreme Court Rules

Floating homes that aren’t designed to actually travel across the water should not be classified as boats and don’t have to follow federal admiralty law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week....more

Supreme Court Issues New "Reasonable Observer" Test on What Constitutes a Vessel

In Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, No. 11-626 (January 15, 2013), the U.S. Supreme Court "reformulated" the definition of "vessel." It explained that an objective test, which looks to the physical characteristics of...more

A Citizen of a State, under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, can get a Passport

Discover that before the Fourteenth Amendment, a citizen of a State was recognized under international law with the nationality of a citizen of the United States. A citizen of the United States was also a citizen of the...more

For Purposes of International Law there are Two citizens in the country of the United States

William Bennett Munro, Professor of Municipal Government at Harvard University, in his work "The Government of the United States: National, State, and Local" (1919) writes at page 73: “So far as the rules of international...more

Spratlys Idiosyncrasies : Does the Philippines Have What It Takes to Prevail Over China?

This write-up will not dwell on the political and military capability of the Philippines over a rising power such as China, but will provide a sketch of the relative legal merits of the Philippine claims over the Spratlys...more

DIREITO PORTUÁRIO (ADUANEIRO) SANCIONADOR

Presentation about some of the penalties existing in Brazilian Law against the port operators....more

McAfee & Taft RegLINC - May 2011: New guidance on identifying waters protected by the Clean Water Act By Robert J. Joyce

On April 27, EPA issued a draft of its controversial new Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act (“Guidance”). The guidance is the latest effort by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (the “Agencies”)...more

Reply to "Is it time for US to join UNCLOS?

This is a comment in reply to Capt.1 Raul (“Pete”) Pedrozo’s article “Is It Time for the United States to Join the Law of the Sea Convention?” published in the Journal of Maritime Law and...more

Section 1, Clause 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment: Citizenship in a State based on Residence

Section 1, Clause 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America states: ”All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of...more

Yes there is a citizen of a State

Before the Fourteenth Amendment, there was only a citizen of a State, under Art. IV, Sect. 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America. Such a citizen was also a citizen of the United States, under...more

The Fourteenth Amendment's effect on Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution

Before the Fourteenth Amendment, there was only a citizen of a State and a citizen of the United States. One born in a State of the Union, was, in general, a citizen of that particular State. As such he or she was...more

Section 1, Clause 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment modified Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States,...

A citizen of a State, under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America, is now also a citizen of the several States. Such citizen is recognized under international law as a...more

Hamrick v. United States, et al, U.S. District Court for DC, Case No. 10-857-JDB, Amended Admiralty/RICO Act Complaint

Admiralty/RICO Act Case for Second Amendment Rights of U.S. Seamen

Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in intrastate, interstate, and maritime travel from a U.S. merchant seaman's point of view. Case started as a simple judicial review of the U.S. Coast Guard's Final Agency Action...more

UFO Chuting of Hawaii, Inc. v. Smith

Brief of Amicus Curiae Ocean Tourism Coalition in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari

...more

Yeager v. City of San Diego, et al.

Appellee's Respondent Brief

The issue on appeal was whether the District Court judge abused its discretion when the Court dismissed Appellant's third amended complaint without leave to amend. Appellees argued Appellant's complaint failed to state a...more