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As more statutes are enacted and U.S. law becomes increasingly complex, legal scholar Andrew Morriss calls for a return to the simpler and, he believes, more effective common law. Morriss has studied the history of codification in the U.S. legal system and when it comes to the environment, he has concluded that we made a wrong turn in the early 1970s. Since then, "Gaining permits to operate and negotiating penalties for regulatory violations have become the primary focus of environmental lawyers," says Morriss.
Pursuing his interest in the common law, Morriss coedited with Roger Meiners The Common Law and the Environment. The book examines the virtues of common law in comparison to statutory law when protecting environmental amenities. As Morriss writes, "The size and complexity of the regulatory regime created by these statutes stands in stark contrast to the simplicity of common law principles. ... A common law system for environmental issues would significantly change the structure of interest groups on all sides of environmental issues for the better."
Morriss? ideas have been published in numerous scholarly journals including the New York University Law Review, Texas Law Review, and William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. He is a contributing editor to Ideas on Liberty. An intelligent and witty speaker, Morriss is often asked to speak on issues of liberty and the role of the courts.
Growing up in southern New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, Morriss became interested in the environment as a college student. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1981 and earned a law degree with high honors and a master?s of public affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. Morriss clerked for U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders in Dallas and then worked for the Texas Rural Legal Aid. In 1994, he earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Morriss is currently at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland where he is the Galen J. Roush Professor of Business Law and Regulation.
Morriss lives with his wife and two daughters in South Euclid, Ohio, and enjoys his role as coleader of two Girl Scout troops. An avid hiker and hobby photographer, he also enjoys time indoors whipping up Asian cuisine. Articles Lessons from the Development of Western Water Law for Emerging Water Markets: Common Law vs. Central Planning
(October 2001) Opeds The 'illusion' of green jobs
(April 2009) Do we pay to reverse climate change?
NO: Paying developing nations is delusional
(January 2009) Policy Series 7 myths about green jobs (No. 44)
(May 2009) Regulation by Litigation -- The Diesel Engine Episode (No. 25)
(September 2002) Pesticides and Property Rights (No. 22)
(May 2001) Research Studies Regulating Air Quality through Litigation: The Diesel Engine Episode
(September 2002) Books Political Economy Forum Series — Books The Common Law and the Environment: Rethinking the Statutory Basis for Modern Environmental Law
(March 2000) Congressional Testimony — Other Publications Performing Due Diligence on Green Energy Investments
(January 2010) Performing due dilligence on green energy investments
(January 2010) Features — PERC Reports Green Jobs: Boom or Bust?
(June 2009) Survival of the Sea Turtle
Cayman Turtle Farm Starts Over
(September 2006) Recycling:A Success Story
Guatemala Entrepreneurs Do What U.s. Cities Can't
(September 2004) Regulators Damage a Park
No Need For This "wetlands Restoration"
(March 2003) Lessons of the Springs
(September 2001) DDT: An Issue of Property Rights
(September 2001) The Legacy of the DDT Ban
DDT's Legacy: Malaria's Return
(June 2001) Current Research Morriss is currently involved in several research projects focusing on property rights, codification, and judicial elections.
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