Jacksonville University Law Review College of Law
About Us
Founded in 2023
The mission of the Jacksonville University Law Review is to uphold and advance the educational mission of both the University and the Jacksonville University College of Law. It strives to maintain the highest standards of analysis and decorum, promoting independent legal thought and respectful discourse.
The Law Review serves as an advocate for quality legal education, encouraging prudence and competency within the legal profession. Additionally, it aims to provide a continuous forum where legal practitioners, educators, and scholars can engage with one another in the pursuit of education, understanding, and excellence.
Editor in Chief: Randi Alt
Managing Editor: Andrew-Paul Griffis
Executive Editor: Alex Wicks
Articles Editor: Leah O'Reilly
Notes & Comments Editor: Joe Oliva
Symposium Editor: Keiry Soto-Chavez
Online Editor: Lauren Fisher
Senior Members: Matthew Majors, Sydney Schmidt, Jake Navin
Junior Members: Ryan Milovich, Aleksandr Borger, John Casey Shiver, Ashton Wood, Thomas Shoemaker,
Anne Parham, Thomas Ross, Marissa van der Zee
Faculty Advisors: Vanessa Zboreak, Courtney Barclay, Latisha Nixon-Jones
Submission Information
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Articles are not precluded based on pre-set length.
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Manuscripts should be formatted in Microsoft Word 2011 or later in .docx format.
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Footnotes should be single spaced and conform to The Bluebook: Uniform Style of Citation.
Issues of the Jacksonville University Law Review
Volume 1, Issue 1
Monitoring Toxic Water is Just a Beginning: "Residents and Visitors Are Advised to Take Precautions" | By Keith W. Rizzardi
Water pollution threatens public health, especially in Florida, where excess nutrients cause reoccurring algal blooms. The United Nations has explicitly recognized a human right to water, and as part of it, a need for water quality monitoring. In the United States, the Clean Water Act, coupled with Environmental Protection Agency guidance, requires water quality monitoring and pollution control measures to protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. Although Florida operates a water quality monitoring regime to implement these concepts, it falls woefully short of achieving clean water. Instead, the state routinely detects excess nutrients, now so severe that Florida launched a system to warn the public of health risks. Peer review critiques, however, reveal inadequacies in the whole system, describing a need for more information, and more resources, to prevent upstream sources. While budgetary data suggests a recent increase in monitoring expenditures, and some new regulatory measures are underway, Florida residents should demand more from their public officials than merely a warning to take precautions against toxic waters. Monitoring is not a solution to toxic water.
Abandoned Agreements | By Vanessa Zboreak
The Mississippi River’s “Cancer Alley” is an 85-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with over 200 petrochemical plants. These facilities emit carcinogens like chloroprene and ethylene oxide, disproportionately impacting predominantly Black communities, such as those in St. John the Baptist and St. James Parishes. Residents face the nation’s highest cancer risks, with local advocacy groups challenging systemic permitting practices and environmental racism under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The EPA initially responded with an investigation and a proposed consent agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), aiming to address cumulative health and racial disparities. However, political and legal pushback, including a lawsuit by Louisiana's Attorney General, led the EPA to abandon the agreement to avoid judicial challenges that might weaken Title VI protections nationwide.
This withdrawal undermined civil rights-based environmental justice efforts, signaling a reluctance to confront systemic racial disparities directly. Although the EPA has pursued other regulatory measures, critics argue that these lack the scope to address the cumulative impacts of pollution. The article emphasizes the need for robust, sustained enforcement of civil rights in environmental justice to protect vulnerable communities.
Building Resilience: The Role of Public Private Partnerships in Disaster Management for Vulnerable Communities | By Latisha Nixon-Jones
This essay provides a compelling historical analysis of the legislative developments that have shaped the current framework of disaster management in the United States. By tracing the evolution of these laws, it highlights a crucial shift in disaster responsibility—from centralized government agencies to a shared burden with the communities they aim to protect. In response to this shift, I propose that disaster management agencies adopt a socio-legal framework designed to guide the formation of public- private partnerships (PPPs). Such a framework would offer a structured approach to balancing transparency with the profitability goals that often characterize private involvement in public services. This essay further advocates for equitable policy reforms that ensure government funds are directed toward those most vulnerable in times of crisis, rather than disproportionately benefiting already privileged groups. By integrating equity into the heart of disaster management policy, this work calls for a reimagined, inclusive approach to public-private collaboration that strengthens resilience in marginalized communities and fosters greater trust in disaster recovery efforts.
Biodiversity, Climate Change and the Coastal Zone Management Act | By Eric V. Hull
The Jacksonville University Law Review 2025 Symposium
Emergence of AI and Its Impact in the Legal Field
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Jacksonville University Law Review invites academics, scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders in law, social science, and related fields to submit proposals to present at the Jacksonville University Law Review’s annual Symposium on February 28, 2025. This year, our Symposium topic is the Emergence of AI and Its Impact in the Legal Field and we are interested in speakers with a broad array of backgrounds to discuss topics surrounding artificial intelligence, including but not limited to impacts on legal curriculum, ethics, writing, and its influence in democracy.
In addition to presenting at the symposium, presenters will be invited to publish articles of approximately 10,000 words in the Jacksonville University Law Review’s symposium issue. If you are interested in presenting at the symposium, please submit a one-page proposal, or an unpublished article by 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2024 to lawreview@jacksonville.edu.
Feedback on submissions will be provided promptly to respect both the time of the authors and to allow adequate time to prepare for the symposium. All decisions on proposals will be made by December 2, 2024.
For those selected to present at the symposium, the Jacksonville University Law Review will cover travel and lodging expenses. For those selected for publication in the symposium issue, drafts of the full article must be submitted to the editorial board by February 27, 2025. The articles will be published in Volume 2, Issue 1 of the Jacksonville University Law Review anticipated for publication in Fall 2025.
For any inquires or to request accommodations, please email lawreview@jacksonville.edu.
Accreditation Information
Accreditation is the hallmark of quality and high standards for legal education and admission to the Bar. The Jacksonville University College of Law is provisionally approved by the American Bar Association (Council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738), and, in accordance with ABA rules, will continue to pursue full accreditation. Law schools that are provisionally accredited are entitled to all the rights of a fully approved law school. Similarly, from an ABA perspective, graduates of provisionally approved law schools are entitled to the same recognition that is accorded graduates of fully approved law schools.
Jacksonville University
General Counsel
2800 University Blvd N, Jacksonville, FL 32211
904-256-7549