• Cumbersome permitting processes will delay clean energy initiatives 10-15 years
    Apr 30 2024

    The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022 seemed like a green light for long-awaited clean energy initiatives. But as James Coleman — an energy law professor at SMU Dallas points out — then reality set in. The $400 Billion to $1.2 Trillion set aside for our green energy dreams was stalled by cumbersome permitting processes to build power line infrastructure. It may take 10 to 15 years to get things up and running. Professor Coleman supplies sobering insights on the frustrations EVs face, and other energy enigmas: like how will we ever develop electrical power storage lasting more than 30 minutes? There's reason for optimism because of energy efforts in Texas and elsewhere in the country.

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    • Tweet us at @MustangOpine @NEWSatSMU and @ProfSautter and @SMULawSchool @SMU
    • email us a behlert@smu.edu or sfasoro@smu.edu
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    29 mins
  • SMU Dallas law school clinic rescues women classified as 'criminalized survivors'
    Mar 5 2024

    One of the tragic ironies that domestic violence victims face is that they sometimes get arrested and even jailed during the very episode wherein they were abused. Case in point is a Texas woman who was date raped, abandoned in the driveway of a DFW home where she was later arrested for DWI and incarcerated. Law students of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women Clinic were assigned to her case by Dedman Law School professors. The students came to her rescue, produced evidence to law enforcement that their client was the real victim and thus a 'criminalized survivor.' The law students' efforts resulted in the the defendant's record being expunged.

    Contact SMU Perspectives


    • Tweet us at @MustangOpine @NEWSatSMU and @ProfSautter and @SMULawSchool @SMU
    • email us a behlert@smu.edu or sfasoro@smu.edu
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    25 mins
  • How retail investor 'superpowers' can be sequel to "Dumb Money" film
    Jan 24 2024

    SMU Dallas law professor Christina Sautter is an expert on the type of youthful "retail investors" depicted in the hit film, "Dumb Money," a comedic but serious look at what happened during the GameStop stock episode of 2021. The cast (including Pete Davidson, Paul Dano, America Ferrara , Nick Offerman and Seth Rogen) carries out a David vs. Goliath storyline "about everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video game store) into the world's hottest company." Podcast guest Sautter, a business law professor at SMU's Dedman School of Law, translates the retail investor world and sheds light on how these mostly Millennial and GenZ traders can can earn cash and wield corporate influence by exercising their "superpower" by simply voting their stock.

    Contact SMU Perspectives


    • Tweet us at @MustangOpine @NEWSatSMU and @ProfSautter and @SMULawSchool @SMU
    • email us a behlert@smu.edu or sfasoro@smu.edu
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    16 mins