Analyze

The article is supported by additional articles that examine the constitutionality of Critical Infrastructure Bill in Louisiana. The article is supported in its claim that the statute can be argued as legislativley motivated as the critical infrastructure bills arose after the Dakota Acess Pipeline protest and the Lousiana revised Bill came after the Bayou Bridge Pipeline protest. The article is additionally supported in analysis of additional critical infrastructure bills from other states, such as Texas, Dakota, etc. 

The methods/Theories used to produce claims of violations of First amendment and Due Process from the Revised statute are taken from Modern First Amendment Doctrines and approaches. The article as well utilizes previous court cases and their decisions to guide the analysis.

In terms of the Due Process Clause violation, the article states that any statue is in violation of the Due Process Clause if the statute is so standardless that is encourages or authorizes discriminatory enforcement. 

In terms of the First Amendment, the article estabilishes first how the United States Supreme Court analyzes cases that contest the First Amendment. Their are three theories introduced that support the first amendment, if a law is found to be prohibiting these theories, a case can be made that it violates the First Amendment. These theories include: "self-realization", "marketplace of ideas", and "democratic value". To determine wether the regulation effects a speaker or the marketplace two models are used: "speaker based" and "audience based". These are used to determine wether the statute will effect the public discourse or the individual. In the end, the article argues how each of these three theories are violated and therefore the statute is in violation of the First Amendment. 

The article as well looks at how the Supreme Court uses a "tiered-scrutiny" approach when analyzing the constitutionality of statutes. This allows the court to apply a different standard based on if the statute is content neutral or content based. Any content based statue is unconstitutional as it prohbits a certain type of speech. When a statute is content neutral, the court must provided evidence that the statute was content motivated. 

"The modifications to Louisiana Revised Statutes section 14:61 seem to be a direct response to the Bayou Pipeline protests for four reasons. First, this is evidenced by the addition of pipelines to the definition of "critical infrastructure" protected by the statute, as well as the creation of heightened penalties aimed at deterring those speaking out against the further construction of pipelines within the state. Second, the arrest of protestors were made within weeks of the modification of the statute, supporting the contention that the legislature made these changes to silence protestors. Third, a sponsor could [...] potentially have a personal motive [...] as energy and natural resource companies are his or her leading campaign donor [...]. Finally, the national trend of statutes protecting critical infrastructure which arose after the Dakota Access pipeline protests seems to suggest that the fear of opposition toward pipeline construction is what led the Louisiana Legislature to amend section 14:61" (Pg. 18). 

This quote describes the arguments that can be made in regards to proving motivation behind the legislative revisions. Despite the statute is content neutral, the motivations behind the statute prove that the statute be upgraded to strict scrutiny. 

"By suppressing the speech of those opposing pipeline construction within the state, the government restricts the ability of citizens to articulate their desires, inherently excluding them from the political process of making changes within their community and perpetuating their plight." 

"Though some regulations of conduct are permissible, it is impermissible for the legislature to suppress the expressive conduct of those opposing the Bayou Bridge pipeline construction, as this suppression results in a governmental distortion of public debate and offends the democratic system."

These quotes demonstrate how the statute can be held in violation of the first amendment. 

The main argument presented in the article states that the Louisiana Revised Statute section 14:61 of the Louisiana Critical Infrastructure Bill should be revoked as it is impermissibly in violation with the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The article notes the timing and vagueness of the additions to the infrastrutcure bill to be discriminatorily motivated towards silencing a certain type of speech. The Revised Infrastructure Bill included the addition of "pipelines", both in construction and operating as apart of the definition of "critical infrastructure". The revised bill estabilished a strict penalty of jail for no more than 20 years or fine of no more than $25,000. The revision followed the Bayou Bridge Pipeline construction protests. The article argues for the regulation to be held under strict scrutiny under the law as, though it is content-neutral, the legislative motive appears to be content-based. An analysis is appropriate to conduct despite being content neutral. As well, the article argues that the new regulation silences speech, in violation with the first amendment. Noted in the article, First amendment arguments fall into three theories or categorizes: "self-realization" theory, "marketplace of ideas" theory, and "democracy" theory. The article argues that all three theories that enable the preservation of the first amendment are violated through the revised bill sections. The statute distorts the marketplace of ideas as it enforces such a harsh punishment, is standardless, and vague that it has the effect of creating self-censorship. Without access to dissenting ideas in opposition to the pipelines, this deprives the public from the marketplace of ideas but also denies them from self realization in creating their own opinions from the opposining ideas around them. Finally, the statue is argued to deny democracy in that it restricts the publics ability to share their desires for their communties, excluding them from the political process, denying them a democratic process to voice an opinion. The article goes on to propose ways in which the courts can fix their practices in reviewals of Due Process and First Amendment legal cases. 

While the organization was founded by Taiwan's citizens to uphold environmental justice movements centered on Taiwanese citizens, its involvement in Vietnam's Formosa case signals that the organization itself may be broadening their scope in future endeavors. In leveraging its resources to seek redress for victims outside of Taiwan, ERF may need to extend their networks to international agencies as well as engage with communities not directly reachable to its workers. As Vietnam's Formosa case also concerns dealings with an authoritarian government, restrictions on speech, police brutality, and censureship on the part of Vietnam's government may render it difficult for ERF and affiliated agencies to obtain all relevant information pertaining to the case.

• Website: https://erf.org.tw/about/

• Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWiSqQq9d56aRjUabg3ZRfg

• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ERFTW

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erftw/ 

Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF)  was founded due to the result of the court settlement regarding the lawsuit on the 3rd phase expansion of Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) between farmers and the government. As such, the organization’s focus remains centered on ensuring community members' environmental rights across different government development plans.

https://erf.org.tw/news/ 

ERF has published over 150 press releases documenting their engagement communities in seeking government actions to address environmental disasters. These press releases include up-to-date news on each relevant environmental justice case the agency is currently working on. One example of a recent press release includes information issued by the Formosa Plastics Vietnam Steel Alliance, which consists of six non-governmental organizations supervising the case. Statements issued within this press release comes from members of Amnesty International Taiwan, Reporters  without Borderes, Environmental Lawyer's Association, and the Environmental Rights Protection Foundation. 

In regards to the Formosa case, ERF has collaborated with the Justice for Formosa Victims (JFFV)- a Vietnamese-American based organization- to coordinate efforts in seeking redress to affected communities.

• Drawn from website,community engagement  activities undertaken by ERF in Taiwan includes:

• At Reservoir Planning Areas: ERF has organized the International Day of Action for Rivers events on March 14 for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. The events aim at drawing the society’s attention on reservoir issues through local concerts or speed-walking events.

• At Solar Power Planning Areas: ERF has organized with local indigenous people the Tribe Land and Sunshine Workshop so that the local communities know more about solar energy and the practicing of indigenous peoples’ right of consultation and consent and the right of benefit sharing.

• At So-to-Be-Eliminated Fishing Villages Whose Land is Acquired by the Tourism Industry and Hotels: ERF organizes courses on urban planning procedures and more.

• Near Factories of the High Technology Industry: ERF organizes courses on communities’ right to know, health risk reports, and more.

• The organization has also established the following:

• Citizen Monitoring the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Environmental Rights Promotion Action Platform (Citizen Monitoring the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Platform): The Sixth Naphtha Cracker of Formosa Plastics is the largest petrochemical industrial park in central Taiwan, impacting the local environment and the health of residents greatly. Research has shown that the incidence of cancer is significantly higher in residents living near the petrochemical industrial park. Taixi Village of Changhua even has the name “cancer village”. The platform was co-established by civic organizations and local residents, aiming at urging the government to enhance its capability of environmental governance and conduct adequate environmental monitoring to realize the public’s right to know.

• Legalization of Unregistered Factories on Agricultural Land: At present, there are over 134,500 unregistered factories on agricultural land in Taiwan, occupying an area of 13,859 hectares. ERF has been working with civic organizations since 2017, organizing legal policy lobbying, urging the government to amend laws and regulations, and publicizing data and information for better policy tracking and judgement. 

• Judicial Remedies for Transnational Corporation Pollution (Ocean Pollution of Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Corporation): ERF organized a lawyer group to assist the 7,875 Vietnamese victims. We filed for a civil lawsuit for compensation against the shareholders and board of directors of Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Corporation, hoping that transnational corporations bear responsibilities of pollution.