Courtesy of a link from Property Prof Blog I was led to this fantastic primer on Groundwater Law from Prof. Joseph Dellapenna at Villanova law. One of the points he emphasizes, which I strongly agree with, is the idea that the shifting terminology used by courts has resulted in tremendous confusion about the nature of property rights in groundwater in most, if not all, jurisdictions.
When I tried to switch from being a scientist to being a lawyer I struggled mightily with the concept of creating static law by using words - which are highly mutable. I came from a world where laws were often defined by equations that incorporated numbers and constants - immutable laws - and tried to find my way in a world where laws are subject to near-constant reinterpretation; words don't always mean the same thing to all people. Crazy stuff, the law. Hope you enjoy this article as much as I am.
2 comments:
Chris: I'm just now getting around to reading this primer. It is really a good read. Thanks for highlighting this work. Wayne.
Goodd reading
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