chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

    Summer 2016 (48:3)

     

    Public Defense

    Special Districts, Sovereignty, and the Structure of Local Police Services

    by Noah M. Kazis

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS FRAGMENTED — usually. It is fragmented geographically, of course, with metropolitan areas carved into hundreds of independent municipalities. But local government is also fragmented functionally. For decades, single-purpose special districts have been replacing traditional general-purpose local governments, like cities and counties, as the providers of public services. In 1966, Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty testified before a subcommittee of the United States Senate on the “urban crisis” of the day. Eager to disclaim responsibility for fixing the problems facing Los Angeles in the wake of the Watts riots, Yorty repeatedly pointed out that independent agencies, such as the school board, were responsible for all the programmatic functions about which the senators were concerned. Exasperated, Connecticut Senator Abe Ribicoff pressed Yorty on the point. “This morning you have really waived authority and responsibility in the following areas: schools, welfare, transportation, employment, health, and housing, which leaves you as the head of the city basically with a ceremonial function, police, and recreation.” “That is right,” responded the mayor, “and fire.”1

    In This Issue

    Transportation & Energy Issues

    Representing States, Tribes, and Local Governments Before, During, and After a Presidentially-Declared Disaster

    by Erin J. Greten & Ernest B. Abbott

    When responding to a man-made or natural event, time is a valuable, yet limited resource. In the aftermath of a disaster, it is critical for local governments to take rapid action to save lives, protect property, and protect the public health and safety. Communities do so through actions such as ordering evacuations, establishing shelters, cordoning off dangerous areas, removing debris, and taking actions necessary to ensure the provision of police, medical, fire, and utility services.

    Environment

    Emergency Management and Vulnerable Populations

    by Angelyn Spaulding Flowers

    “One of the primary responsibilities of state and local governments is to protect residents and visitors from harm, including assistance in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters.”1 THIS ARTICLE LOOKS AT LEGAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT and the obligation to individuals historically identified as vulnerable or special needs populations. The preliminary question arising is: “To whom are we referring?” Since 2011 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has used as its doctrinal underpinning the concept of the “whole community.

    Eminent Domain

    The American Legacy of Public Land Rebellion

    by John W. Ragsdale, Jr.

    The most recent manifestation of the Sagebrush Rebellion1 is a mind-bending, consciousness altering, looking glass version of logic and reality. The sight of Cliven Bundy with his big hat, massive silver belt buckle, and his equally sizeable paunch, his unemployable spawn, the late, doggedly litigious Wayne Hage and his dutiful descendants, the swat teams of heavily armed, confrontation-seeking acolytes, equipped with flak jackets, AK-47s, second amendment signage, and “patriot” bling is, to be charitable, cartoonish.2 This clown car has emerged, clad in the sackcloth of “injured innocence”3 and professing to be the beleaguered natives of the Great Basin’s high desert.4 They announce rebellion against the evil federal Sheriff of Nottingham. In truth, only the Western Shoshone could legitimately make this claim, and, indeed, the Dann sisters are true American heroes.5 These characters at Bunkerville and Malheur are most decidedly not the like of the Dann Sisters.

    Topics of Interest

    Explore - Other Issues