Hanna Schroer, Examining the Evolution of the Environmental Rights Amendment Through a Municipal Lens, 97 Pa. B.A. Q. 106 (2026), the authors argue that after fifty years, Article I, Section 27 of the Constitution continues to impact state and local government. However, modern caselaw has raised questions as to the responsibilities and obligations that Article I, Section 27 imposes on local government and municipalities.
John J. Hare, What Lawyers Can Do to Protect and Promote Judicial Independence, 97 PABAQ 1 (2026), Hare argues judicial independence is a foundational principle of American government and that lawyers have a special responsibility to defend it. He explains the lawyer’s role through the lens of categorical advocacy: ethical advocacy, institutional advocacy, public advocacy, and professional decorum. He further argues that judicial independence is not self-sustaining and that it must be actively protected by lawyers who have a unique duty to strengthen and defend the judiciary.
Daniel A. Seibel, Bench Brief: Nice Girls Do Get The Corner Office, 28 No.2 LAWYERSJ 2 (2026), Seibel writes about Chief Justice Todd. He traces her path to the bench—from her upbringing in a working-town near to Pittsburgh, to her career as a litigator and appointment to the Court in 2007, through her appointment to Chief Justice in 2022. Seibel also highlights Chief Justice Todd’s pushes to improve elder law, veterans’ treatment court, and overall commitment to justice.
John C. Dernbach, Public Natural Resources, Common Property, and the Public Trust Doctrine, 56 Envtl. L. Rep. (ELI) 10067 (2026), Dernbach argues that Article I, Section 27 treats certain natural resources as “common property,” held in trust by the state for present and future generations. “Common property” includes both traditionally government-owned resources and other resources not privately owned in a strict sense, like air and water. Additionally, under the public trust doctrine, the Commonwealth must manage these resources for public use and availability, not just protect them.
Jon Caroulis, Lawyer and Jurist James Wilson ‘One of Pennsylvania’s Greatest Sons,’ 48-APR PALAW 26 (2026), Caroulis writes about the life, history, and legacy of James Wilson. Tracing his journey from Scotland to Philadelphia and beyond, Caroulis explains the crucial role Wilson played at the Second Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and his efforts to help draft the Pennsylvania Constitution in 1790. Often overshadowed by other founders, Wilson played an influential role in shaping the United States’ notions of liberty and served on the first Supreme Court of the United States.
Jonathan Skinner-Thompson, The Idea of Air, 2026 Utah L. Rev. 69 (2026), Skinner-Thompson seeks to reorient the way people think about air. Traditionally, air was seen as a limitless supply of oxygen. Today, it is commonly viewed as a natural resource. The author details the historical approaches to regulating air, including Pennsylvania’s Public Trust Doctrine. Ultimately, Skinner-Thompson proposes four ways to view air that challenge conventional assumptions and current government regulations.
Mia Shipley, Growing a Greener Future: The Development of a Legal Framework for Solar Energy in Pennsylvania, 14 Joule: Duq. Energy & Envtl. L.J. 4 (2026), Shipley examines the current regulatory framework for solar energy in the Commonwealth. Noting that many solar regulations are local, Shipley focuses on a comparison of local government regulations before exploring how Pennsylvania’s policies can evolve to promote sustainable energy and industry standards.
Nathan Proceng, Energy Demand and Justice in the Great Lakes’ Next Industrial Era, 103 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 191 (2026), Proceng discusses the impacts that the “rapid industrial resurgence” of the Great Lakes may have on the environment. He argues that absent sufficient safeguards, many new projects that claim to bring new jobs will actually harm the environment and people. Proceng highlights Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment as a model to help ameliorate the energy-related harms from new tech-driven industrial projects.
Brent Finkbeiner, The Uncertain Future of Agency Deference in Pennsylvania, 35 Widener Commonwealth L. Rev. 75 (2026), the author contemplates the future of administrative agency deference in Pennsylvania. Following the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Chevron, Finkbeiner argues that the decline of administrative agency deference under United Supreme Court holding will not truly affect the Commonwealth. He argues that Pennsylvania courts will ultimately turn to principles of statutory construction and do what courts do—interpret laws and regulations.
Michaela Shuchman, A Needed Gloss to Gloss: Furnishing Greater Procedural Protections for Students Prior to School Removal, 49 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 61 (2026), the author highlights the tension between the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Goss that students have a property and liberty interest in their education and the widespread practice of suspension, expulsion, and removal from the classroom for troublemaking students. Shuchman argues that the Mathews balancing test should be applied in the context of school discipline and that state constitutions may provide additional protection. She highlights that Pennsylvania courts have held that under the state constitution, students have a right to “receive a meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically, which requires that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education.”
Katherine Nipper, Enforcement Mechanisms for Supreme Court Ethics Codes: Applying State Modes to SCOTUS, 114 Ky. L.J. 623 (2026), the author argues that the lack of a judicial code regulating the behavior of United States Supreme Court Justices has led to public controversy and undermined the public’s trust in the institution. By studying the judicial codes of various state courts, we can begin to create a judicial code applicable to the High Court. Nipper uses Pennsylvania’s method of creating a judicial code via state constitutional provision as an example of a successful oversight process. Article V establishes the Judicial Conduct Board, responsible for handling complaints, and the Court of Judicial Discipline, responsible for adjudicating formal charges from the Judicial Conduct Board.
Alana Siock, “The Winner Takes it All:” The Public Use Doctrine’s Disparate Impact on Impoverished Communities in Natural Gas Production, 11 Lincoln Mem’l U. L. Rev. 94 (2026), Siock highlights the disparate impact of the Takings Clause on impoverished communities engaged in natural gas production, specifically using northeastern Pennsylvania as a case study. She proposes that the persistent poverty and economic decline in the area on the micro level are a product of distributive injustice, which is made worse and perpetuated by the expansion of the Takings Clause’s Public Use Doctrine, both federally and through the Commonwealth’s Article I, Section 10.
Sonya Ziaja, Why Constitutional Environmental Rights Don’t Matter, 56 Envtl. L. Rep. (ELI) 10231 (2026), the author argues that environmental rights amendments are not the solution proponents hold them out to be; rather, they are only one small part of complex systems that influence beliefs and actions on the ground, and do not have a direct impact on natural resources managers. Despite her primary argument, she argues that constitutions that include the public trust doctrine may have significant influence. However, regarding the “quantitative[,] empirical approach” the article takes, Pennsylvania declined to participate in the study.
Amy Coco, The Pennsylvania Constitution at 250: Our Commonwealth’s Living Charter, 28 No. 11 Lawyers J. 9 (2026), the author highlights the importance and impact of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Coco argues that the constitutional provisions “are not abstractions;” rather, they play central roles in the litigation and protection of individual rights. Coco portrays the Constitution as “a promise across generations” that “belongs to all of us.” Indeed, “[i]t is our Commonwealth’s charter, our inheritance, and our responsibility.”
Michael L. Smith, Species of State Constitutional Lockstepping, 71 Vill. L. Rev. 111 (2026), the author attempts to identify the various iterations of state constitutional lockstepping—that is, state courts applying federal courts’ interpretations of the federal Constitution to their analogous state constitutional provisions. Smith believes that closely analyzing lockstep interpretations and its variations is crucial as state constitutional interpretation takes on an increasingly important role in contemporary jurisprudence. Smith uses Pennsylvania as an example of a state that engages in both lockstepping and independent state constitutional review, depending on the constitutional provisions involved.
Courtney M. Alexander & Marsha Levick, Challenging the Disparate Impact of Pennsylvania’s Child Abuse Reporting and Investigation Statuses Under the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Antidiscrimination Provisions, 98 Temp. L. Rev. 447 (2026), the author argues that Article I, Section 29 of the Constitution may provide a framework for advancing disparate impact claims within Pennsylvania’s child welfare system. The authors argue that contemporary child abuse reporting statutes perpetuate a legacy of discrimination against Black families and children and that Pennsylvania’s constitutional provisions explicitly barring race discrimination and mandating equal protection may provide a path forward.