About the Journal
Established in 1969 and originally published under the title Law and the Social Order, the Arizona State Law Journal is a nationally recognized legal periodical that serves as the primary scholarly publication of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Current Print Issue
Published in Volume 57, Issue 4, Winter 2025
Setting the Table: Where Are We in Colorado River Hydrology and Law of the River?
By Brittany K. Johnson & Mekha Pereira. On the Colorado River, as hydrology becomes drier and operations become more challenging, a lawyer and a hydrologist take turns addressing what it really means to comply with the Lee Ferry delivery obligation in the Colorado River Compact. There are legal components (and interpretations) of what must be […]
Space: A Final Frontier or a Relic of Science Fiction References?
By Molly Woodward. Outer space is filled with stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, and a startling number of space debris objects. This space debris is a problem, threatening current and future space exploration, as well as people on earth. This article proposes a solution to the space debris problem, exploring the shortfalls of existing space law […]
Breaking the Cycle: New Ideas to Solve Old Problems in Colorado River Tribal Water Access
By Heather Tanana, Cora Tso, & Crystal Tulley-Cordova. This article examines the paradox facing tribal communities in the Colorado River Basin who, despite holding some of the most senior water rights, continue to face significant barriers to accessing their rightful allocations. Through analysis of the Winters doctrine, settlement processes, and persistent infrastructure challenges, the authors […]
Let Them Be Tribal Members: Exempting Nonmember Resident Indians from State Taxes
By Crispin T. South. Under McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission, States are categorically preempted from taxing the income of an Indian who lives within his own Tribe’s reservation and gains his income from reservation sources. Later cases have distinguished McClanahan, holding that the income of Indians who live and work within a different Tribe’s reservation is […]
The Arizona “Junior Priority”: How Would That Work?
By Stuart L. Somach. Section 301(b) of the Colorado River Basin Project Act subordinates post-1968 Arizona entitlements, including the Central Arizona Project, during Lower Basin shortages. This Article argues that the provision violates constitutional limits on Congress’s authority under the equal sovereignty doctrine and related federalism principles. Applying Shelby County v. Holder’s three-part framework and drawing on […]
“We Have to Judge the Future by the Past”: The 1931–40 Drought, the Upper Basin Compact, and the Colorado River Storage Project
By Scott A. Miltenberger, Ph.D. Building on prior scholarship, “We Must Judge the Future by the Past” explores the impact and historical significance of the 1931–40 dry period for the Colorado River Basin. It places this decadal drought in context and discusses how it shaped U.S. Bureau of Reclamation planning for new Colorado River projects […]
A National Obligation to Mexico in the Colorado River Basin
By Rhett B. Larson. The United States of America has a “national obligation” to its southern and downstream neighbor, Mexico, to share the Colorado River. This obligation was created by the 1944 Rivers Treaty and incorporated into domestic law in the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act. This article argues that the “national obligation” language […]
Agencies Changing Course: Conservation as a Land Use in BLM’s Public Lands Rule
By Elizabeth S. Kness. In May of 2024, the Bureau of Land Management promulgated a rule that prioritized restoring natural resources on public lands and placed conservation on par with land uses like mining and grazing. The rule and lawsuit challenging it present an opportunity to analyze administrative agencies’ authority, how courts review agency course-changing, […]
CAP-ing Growth? Arizona’s Need for Complementary, Statewide Land Use and Water Management Policies
By Hannah Bernier. Arizona is at the crossroads of rapid population growth and increased uncertainty about future water supplies. Land use planning and water management are essential tools to balance housing availability and affordability with the resource limitations of living in an arid environment. While Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act and the Growing Smarter Acts have […]
Recent Blog Posts
The Arizona State Law Journal Blog’s articles do not constitute legal advice. The Blog’s articles focus on timely legal information that may, but does not necessarily, represent the authors’ personal views. The Blog’s articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arizona State Law Journal or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
