Lyness publishes litter law article in Brooklyn Law Review

Professor Sean Lyness publishes the first comprehensive piece of legal scholarship devoted to examining "litter law" in Brooklyn Law Review

Brooklyn Law Review has published Assistant Professor Sean Lyness's latest article, Litter Law. In the first comprehensive piece of legal scholarship devoted to examining "litter law," Lyness explores America's problem of litter, and the legal efforts Americans have undertaken to eradicate it. The article begins by looking at the creation of litter law, from the 20th-century trash boom to the widespread anti-littering campaigns that followed. Litter Law then catalogs the wide range of state and local laws regulating litter. The article then examines how these laws are enforced and the resulting problems they can cause, including First Amendment conflicts, pretextual policing, and a lack of corporate responsibility. Despite the sheer number of litter laws, Lyness finds that they are seldom enforced and difficult to prosecute. The article proposes several statutory changes and best practices designed to make litter laws more effective and enforceable. By examining an issue that has long been treated as a footnote in environmental law, Lyness highlights both the shortcomings of the current system and the opportunity to rethink how America addresses litter.