Kenneth M. Murchison

Biography

Professor Murchison earned his B.A. in history (summa cum laude) from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, his J.D. as well as his M.A. in history from the University of Virginia, and his S.J.D. from the Harvard Law School. As a law student, he was a member of the Virginia Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Professor Murchison joined the faculty of the LSU Law Center in 1977, following a clerkship with Judge John D. Buztner, Jr. and four years service as a judge advocate in the United States Air Force. In 1980-81, he was a Langdell Fellow at the Harvard Law School; he was the Natural Resources Law Institute Fellow at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in 1992-93; and he was a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, a graduate college of Cambridge University during the spring semester of 2009.  Professor Murchison has also been a visiting professor at the University of Richmond, a Distinguished Civilian Professor Visitor at the United States Military Academy, and Frank Spain Visiting Chairholder at the University of Alabama School of Law.  He is the author of two books, Federal Criminal Law Doctrines: The Forgotten Impact of National Prohibition (Duke University Press 1994) and The Snail Darter Case: TVA Versus the Endangered Species Act (University Press of Kansas 2007); and he has written more than 40 articles that have appeared in legal journals. In recent years, Professor Murchison has served as the chair of a number of faculty committees including the Long Range Planning Committee, the Tenure and Promotion Committee, the Admissions Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and the Grading Standards Committee. He serves as the faculty adviser to the Environmental Law Society and to the Environmental Law Moot Court team.

Courses Taught

Constitutional Law I, Evolution of Modern Constitutional Doctrine (seminar), Introduction to Environmental Law, Legal Aspects of Environmental Control (seminar), Local Government Law, U.S. Constitutional History, Comparative Constitutional Law.

Selected Publications

Law Review Articles

Kenneth M. Murchison, Waivers of Immunity in Federal Environmental Statutes of the Twenty-First Century: Correcting a Confusing Mess, 32 Wm. & Mary Env. L. & Policy Rev. 355 (2008).

Kenneth M. Murchison, Learning From Five and a Half Decades of Federal Water Pollution Control Legislation: Twenty Lessons For the Future, 32 B.C. Env. Aff. L. Rev. 527 (2005).

Books

Kenneth Murchison, The Snail Darter Case: TVA Versus the Endangered Species Act (University Press of Kansas 2007).

Kenneth Murchison, Federal Criminal Law Doctrines: The Forgotten Influence of National Prohibition (Duke University Press 1994).

Chapters in Books

Kenneth M. Murchison, Heroism in the Midst of Tragedy: Judge Horton and the Scottsboro, in Screening Justice B The Cinema of Law: Significant Films of Law, Order and Social Justice (2006).

Honors & Awards

• 2007 to present: Executive Committee of the AALS Section on Local Government Law (Treasurer in 2008, Secretary in 2009)
• March 1998-July 1999: Special Master, United States v. Clifford, Civ. No. 96-0527 (E.D. La.) (suit challenging EPA's failure to prepare TMDLs for Louisiana waters that do not meet water quality standards)
• May 1997: Medal for Outstanding Civilian Service to the United States Army
• 1992-1993: Natural Resources Law Institute Fellow, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College
• 1991-1993: Co-reporter for Louisiana Law Institute Committee to Study Procedures of the Department of Environmental Quality
• Spring 1991: Member of Governor's Task Force on Restructuring the Amite River Basin Commission
• Spring 1988: Member of Louisiana Governor-Elect's Advisory Committee on Governmental Reorganization
• 1980-81: Langdell Fellow, Harvard Law School
• May 1979: National finalist; White House Fellowship Competition