West Virginia Environmental News

Environmental Law Professor Selected

Carmen G. Gonzalez, associate professor at Seattle University School of Law, has been selected as the 2004-2005 Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center. She is currently teaching environmental law as a visiting professor at Rutgers University School of Law.

The Supreme Court Fellows Program was created in 1973 by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger to provide promising individuals with a first-hand understanding of the federal government, in particular, the judicial branch. In the words of Chief Justice Rehnquist, the program offers “a unique opportunity for exceptional individuals to contribute to the administration of justice at the national level.”

Each year fellows work with top officials in the judicial branch of government. With assignments at the Supreme Court, the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts, and the U. S. Sentencing Commission, fellows have been involved in various projects examining the federal judicial process and seeking, proposing, and implementing solutions to problems in the administration of justice.

As the fellow at the Federal Judicial Center, Gonzalez will provide assistance with the Center’s research and history programs. Her fellowship begins in September.

Prior to joining the faculty at Seattle University Law School, Gonzalez taught international law and international environmental law at the State University of Moldova in 1999 and received a Fulbright Scholar award to teach international environmental law in Buenos Aires, Argentia in 1998. Gonzalez worked with the American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative in Ukraine from 1996 to 1997 as a consultant on environmental law. Gonzalez provided advice and assistance to Ukrainian public interest law firms and organized seminars for Ukrainian prosecutors, judges, and environmental ministry officials. She clerked for Judge Thelton E. Henderson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1988 to 1989. Gonzalez is a member of the California and District of Columbia Bars, the American Society of International Law, and the Law and Society Association.

Gonzalez earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1985 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988.

The Supreme Court Fellows are selected by a commission comprised of 11 members selected by the Chief Justice of the United States.

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	Did You Know?
	SARA is the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (1986) Federal law reauthorizing and expanding the jurisdiction of CERCLA. Signed into law October 17, 1986. Title III of SARA is known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right- to-Know Act of 1986. It is a revision and extension of CERCLA.SARA is intended to encourage and support local and state emergency planning efforts. It provides citizens and local governments with information about potential chemical hazards in their communities. SARA calls for facilities that store hazardous materials to provide officials and citizens with data on the types (flammables, corrosives, etc.); amounts on hand (daily, yearly); and their specific locations.