Bilateral negotiations to amend the Compact of Free Association (COFA) between the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United States are currently underway. While frequently framed in terms of U.S geopolitics of the Pacific, we share lesser-known legal outcomes of the ongoing relationship between the RMI and the U.S.

Legal geography is a growing field. Cross-disciplinary efforts between geography and law abound, and scholars working at this juncture can now build on the previous work of key thinkers that have elaborated multiple theoretical and methodological foundations for future research. Yet in recent years there have been growing calls to more precisely define legal geography’s theory, methods, and research agendas (O’Donnell et al. 2020; Orzeck and Hae, 2020). Matteo Nicolini’s new book on legal geography answers this call and will be of considerable interest to legal geographers as well as a wide range of critical social scientists, philosophers, and academics in the legal professions.

Although economic development in countries in Latin America is often viewed as a strategy for reducing immigration to the United States, research shows that foreign investments are not necessarily the most effective strategy for reducing migration. In fact, economic investment may even fuel migration. Instead, the US should increase opportunities for legal labor migration by increasing and diversifying the labor visas available each year. Doing so could help address labor shortages, while also ensuring the safety of migrants who may otherwise take dangerous routes into the country.

The final schedule for the Legal Geography Specialty Group’s sessions titled Graduate Voices in the Lawscape at the upcoming AAG conference in Denver is now available. These three curated sessions feature new research from graduate students whose work intersects with law and space, often in critical and innovative ways.

The program for the 5th International Conference for Carceral Geography is now out and registration is open. The 5th International Conference for Carceral Geography, a hybrid conference (in-person and online) in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday the 13th, Wednesday the 14th and Thursday the 15th of December 2022.

Should Volkswagen be held partially liable for creating a climate that hurts farmers?

The contemporary moment is a new one for the U.S. Supreme Court. With a conservative balance of judges, the Supreme Court is poised to shift not only decisions made in earlier eras, but the geographies of rights across the United States. While decisions during the 2021-2022 Court changed geographies of abortion access, jurisdiction over Native American reservations, and state control over gun rights, next year’s docket includes voting rights.