Environmental Science
The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Litigation
Quick fact
In the 1892 case Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state could not sell the Chicago waterfront because the public trust doctrine forbids giving away public resources.
Why this is interesting
Imagine if the ocean could be bought and fenced off by a single company. What stops that from happening? The answer might be older than the country itself.