Congressional Abrogation of Indian Treaties: Reevaluation and Reform

The treaties between the United States and the Indians constitute a critical recognition and guarantee of Indian rights. They envision a measured separatism \u27 for an important minority that is determined to maintain a distinct cultural and political identity.\u27 Non-treaty rights are fragile: The Supreme Court has held that Indians are not citizens within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment,\u27 and that Congress has plenary power over Indian affairs by virtue of its guardianship over their interests. Moreover, the United States has ended the formal negotiation process with the Indians, and apparently no further treaties will be concluded. Thus, Congress\u27 power to abrogate the Indian treaties limits the Indians\u27 ability to maintain their unique communities. Notwithstanding the importance of the treaties, the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the power of Congress to abrogate them unilaterally when Congress has clearly expressed its intent to do so. However, the Court has never clearly described the basis for this power. In 1871, the Court suggested in The Cherokee Tobacco3 that congressional abrogation is an application of the last-in-time rule, under which a treaty may supersede a prior statute and a statute may supersede a prior treaty. Thirty-two years later, the Court offered two other justifications in Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock. Lone Wolf hints that abrogation can be justified by Congress\u27 plenary power over Indian affairs. In addition, the decision suggests that abrogation can be viewed as an application of the international law doctrine of rebus sic stantibus, under which one party may terminate a treaty due to a fundamental change in circumstances. This Note argues that none of these three justifications is persuasive and that the Court should give increased protection to Indian treaties. Section I provides the relevant background on treaties. Section II examines the justifications and concludes that none of them is persuasive. Finally, Section III proposes that congressional abrogation be limited by a last-in-time plus rule that would require Congress to provide both an express statement of abrogation and an acceptable reason as measured by the requirements for treaty termination under international law. This standard acknowledges the extensive congressional power over Indian affairs, while also recognizing the importance of the treaties and the unique status and history of the Indian peoples

Implications of Foundational Crisis in Mathematics: A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Legal Research

As a result of a sequence of so-called foundational crises, mathematicians have come to realize that foundational inquiries are difficult and perhaps never ending. Accounts of the last of these crises have appeared with increasing frequency in the legal literature, and one piece of this Article examines these invocations with a critical eye. The other piece introduces a framework for thinking about law as a discipline. On the one hand, the disciplinary framework helps explain how esoteric mathematical topics made their way into the legal literature. On the other hand, the mathematics can be used to examine some aspects of interdisciplinary legal research

Probability and Statistics in the Legal Curriculum: A Case Study in Disciplinary Aspects of Interdisciplinary

This Article provides a general taxonomy for various types of educational interdisciplinarity. The discussion focuses, however, on what is called crossdisciplinary education, using a particular mathematics-based example to illustrate how crossdisciplinary education can be used to ask law students to (re)examine law as a discipline. The Article considers interdisciplinarity and the legal curriculum in the context of probability and statistics, using the well-known jury discrimination case of Castaneda v. Partida as a case study. The Article concludes with some brief observations on the importance of thinking about law as a discipline. This is the third installment of a work in progress, the goal of which is not so much to construct a definitive portrait of law, as it is to examine what such a construction entails

Will the Brexit cloud have a silver lining for conservationists?

Were we starting from a place where nature was fully protected and thriving, dismantling the structures and support provided by the EU would be a more worrying prospect, writes Mike Townsend (Woodland Trust). But while the EU provides many environmental benefits the state of the natural environment remains woeful. We must seize this opportunity to reframe nature conservation

The Surface Fatigue Life of Contour Induction Hardened AISI 1552 Gears

Two groups of spur gears manufactured from two different materials and heat treatments were endurance tested for surface fatigue life. One group was manufactured from AISI 1552 and was finished ground to a 0.4 micron (16 micro-in.) rms surface finish and then dual frequency contour induction hardened. The second group was manufactured from CEVM AISI 9310 and was carburized, hardened, and ground to a 0.4 micron (16 micro-in.) rms surface finish. The gear pitch diameter was 8.89 cm (3.5 in.). Test conditions were a maximum Hertz stress of 1.71 GPa (248 ksi), a bulk gear temperature of approximately 350 K (170 F) and a speed of 10,000 rpm. The lubricant used for the tests was a synthetic paraffinic oil with an additive package. The test results showed that the 10 percent surface fatigue (pitting) life of the contour hardened AISI 1552 test gears was 1.7 times that of the carburized and hardened AISI 9310 test gears. Also there were two early failures of the AISI 1552 gears by bending fatigue

Studying the consumption and health outcomes of fiscal interventions (taxes and subsidies) on food and beverages in countries of different income classifications; a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Governments use fiscal interventions (FIs) on food and beverages to encourage healthy food behaviour and positive health outcomes. The objective of this review was to study the behavioural and health outcomes of implemented food and beverage FIs in the form of taxes and subsidies in countries of different income classifications. METHODS: The present systematic review was conducted in accordance with Cochrane protocols. The search was carried out on academic and grey literature in English, for studies conducted in different countries on implemented FIs on food and non-alcoholic beverages and health outcomes, with a special focus on the income of those countries. RESULTS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and 14 were from peer- reviewed journals. Thirteen studies came from high-income (HI) countries, four from upper middle-income (UMI) countries and only one came from a lower middle-income (LMI) country. There were no studies from lower-income (LI) countries. Of these 18 studies; nine focused on taxes, all of which were from HI countries. Evidence suggests that FIs on foods can influence consumption of taxed and subsidized foods and consequently have the potential to improve health. CONCLUSION: Although this review supports previous findings that FIs can have an impact on healthy food consumption, it also highlights the lack of evidence available from UMI, LMI and LI countries on such interventions. Therefore, evidence from HI countries may not be directly applicable to middle-income and LI countries. Similar research conducted in middle and low income countries will be beneficial in advocating policy makers on the effectiveness of FIs in countering the growing issues of non-communicable diseases in these countries

Assessing the social validity of a brief dietary survey for Sri Lankan adults with a focus on gender:a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: As the World Health Organization urges countries to strengthen their noncommunicable disease monitoring and surveillance activities, setting-specific innovations are emerging. Diet – a key, modifiable risk factor for chronic diseases – is particularly challenging to capture reliably. By socially validating self-report dietary survey tools, we may be able to increase the accuracy and representativeness of data for improved population health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that impact Sri Lankan Brief Dietary Survey (a newly developed tool) and 24-h Dietary Recall participation, engagement, and social validity among Sri Lankan adults. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 93 participants (61 women and 32 men) in three Sri Lankan districts (Colombo, Kalutara, and Trincomalee). Interview data were analysed thematically and are presented as non-hierarchical thematic networks. RESULTS: Participants identified a number of factors that influenced their survey participation and engagement. These included the time of day interviews occur, recall ease, level of commitment required, perceived survey value, emotional response to surveys, and interviewer positionality. Many of these factors were gendered, however, both female and male participants expressed a preference for engaging with socially valid research that they felt justified their personal investment in data collection. When explicitly asked to share ideas about how to improve the surveys, many participants opted not to provide suggestions as they felt they lacked the appropriate expertise. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have implications for the accuracy and equity of dietary surveillance activities, and ultimately the appropriateness and effectiveness of programmes and policies informed by these data. Only through understanding how and why the target population engages with dietary research can we develop socially valid methods that assess and address the dietary risks of individuals and groups that are underrepresented by current conventions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40795-021-00481-9