Books

Law Review and Journal Articles

• "The Challenges of Climigration," D+C Development and Cooperation (July 2009). Read More
• "Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison: Global Law and Practice," 42 University of San Francisco Law Review 983 (Spring 2008). (Co-authored with Professor Connie de la Vega.) SSRN
• "Civil Society Concerns in the Context of Economic Globalization," 15 The Transnational Lawyer 105 (2002). (Co-author)
• "Reevaluating the California Tanner Act: Public Empowerment v. Efficient Waste Disposal," California Real Property Journal (1995). (Leighton is co-author of article. California Real Property Journal is a State Bar of California publication.)
• "International Legal Protection for Victims of Environmental Abuse," 18 Yale Journal of International Law 355 (1993).

Book Contributions

• "Migrations and Slow Onset Disasters: Desertification and Drought," in Migration, Environment, and Climate Change: Assessing the Evidence edited by Frank Laczko (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization on Migration, 2009). Read More
• "Desertification and Migration," in Governing Global Desertification: Linking Environmental Degradation, Poverty and Participation edited by Pierre Marc Johnson, Karel Mayrand, and Marc Paquin (London: Ashgate Press, 2006).
• "Mexico," in World Atlas of Desertification edited by Nick Middleton and David Thomas (Nairobi, Kenya: UN Environment Programme, Second Edition 1997).
• "Desertification and Migration: Case Studies and Evaluation," in Desertification and Migration edited by Juan Puigdefábregas and Teresa Mendizábal (Logroño, Spain: Geoforma Ediciones, First Edition 1995). (Co-author)

Opinion Pieces and Blog Posts

Other Publications

• "Protecting People and the Planet: A Proposal to Address the Human Rights Impacts of Climate Change Policy" (December 2009). (Co-published by the Center for Law and Global Justice. Read More.)
• "State of World Population 2009 — Facing a Changing World: Women, Population, and Climate" (2009). (Leighton was an advisor to the report published by the United Nations Population Fund.)
• “Desertification + Migration = Security?" published in the Desertification and Security Conference Proceedings, German Federal Foreign Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (2007).
• "Report on Human Rights Violations: Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison" (2007). (Leighton was a principal author to the report published by the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic and the Center for Law and Global Justice of the USF School of Law, in association with Human Rights Advocates).
• "Developing Indicators and Monitoring Tools to Promote Science and Community-Based Policies for Dryland Biodiversity Protection" (Global Environment Facility, 2003). (Co-author)
• "The Human Right to Water: Exploring Public and Private Legal Obligations for the Equitable Distribution, Transfer and Use of Water," published in the American Bar Association Fall Meeting, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, Conference Proceedings (2003).
• "Beyond Good Deeds: Case Studies and a New Policy Agenda for Corporate Accountability" (Natural Heritage Institute, July 2002). (Co-author)
• "Opportunities for Addressing Interrelated Problems of Dryland Desertification, Biodiversity Loss, and Climate Change, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (1998). (Leighton contributed to this report of the Global Diversity Forum, Dakar.)
• "Environmental Degradation and Migration" (December 1997). (Research paper for the U.S. Congressional Commission on Immigration Reform.)
• "Restoring the Waters," published by the Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado (1997). (Contributor)
• "A Contribution to the Environment and Security Debate: NHI's U.S.-Mexico Case Study on Desertification and Migration," published by the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. (Spring 1997). (Leighton is a co-author of this environmental change and security project report.)

Briefs

• Missouri Supreme Court, State v. Andrews (2010) (No. SC91006). (Leighton and Professor Connie de la Vega's article "Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison: Global Law and Practice" was cited in the dissenting opinion. To read case, click here.)
• U.S. Supreme Court, amicus brief in support of petitioners in Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida (2009). (Co-authored with Professor Connie de la Vega and Neil Popovic. Read brief here.)

Court Citation of Research

Presentations

• Presenter, German Marshall Fund Policy Meeting, Brussels, Belgium (April 2010). (Leighton spoke on the legal aspects of people forced to migrate from poor countries to wealthier developed countries due to climate disasters.)
• Presenter, "Environmentally Induced Migration on Climate Change," United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) seminar, United Nations Headquarters, New York, N.Y. (April 2010).
• Panelist, "Is it Cruel and Unusual to Sentence a Child to Life Without the Possibility of Parole?" Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. (November 2009). (Hosted in concordance with the U.S. Supreme Court hearings Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida.)
• Presenter, "Protecting Our Human Rights in a Climate-Changed World," Rights and the Environment, the Rosenfield Program and the Henry R. Luce Program in Nations and the Global Environment, Des Moines, Iowa (November 2009).
• Presenter, "Expert Workshop on Climate Change, Environment, and Migration," U.N. Environment Program, International Organization for Migration, U.N. University and Munich Re Foundation, (July 2009).
• Panelist, German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Workshop on Climate Induced Migration, (June 2009).
• Presenter, 17th Economic and Environmental Forum, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Athens, Greece (May 2009).
• Presenter, "Protecting the Most Vulnerable in a Climate-Changed World," Golden Gate University School of Law, Nineteenth Annual Fulbright Symposium for the American Society of International Law, San Francisco (April 2009).
• Presenter, "Climate Change and Conflict: Drivers of Environmental Migration," Fordham Environmental Law Review Symposium "Global Responses to Eco-Migration and Environmental Disasters: The Role of U.S. and International Law & Policy," New York, N.Y. (February 2009).
• Presenter, "Desertification, Climate Change and Migration: Perspective on the African Continent," "Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: Addressing Vulnerabilities and Harnessing Opportunities," Geneva, Switzerland (February 2008). (The conference organized by the Government of Greece, Human Security Network and the International Organization for Migration.)
• Presenter, Desertification and Security Conference, German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, Germany (June 2007).
• Presenter, Closing lecture, Stanford Environmental Law Journal and Journal of International Law, Stanford School of Law "Climate Change Liability Symposium," Palo Alto, Calif. (February 2007).
• Presenter, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," Corporate Accountability, Amnesty International and Stanford Centre on Ethics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. (February 2007).
• Presenter, Closing lecture at the "Second International Symposium on Desertification and Migration"., (The symposium was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Government of Spain.)
• Presenter, Final session at the Golden Gate University School of Law, ASIL and Fulbright Symposium, San Francisco, Calif. (April 2006).
• Presenter, "Human Rights, Nigeria and Oil," World Affairs Council (East Bay Chapter), Berkeley, Calif. (March 2006).
• Panelist, "Environmental Challenges to the Protection of Human Rights: Global Issues and Local Perspectives," World Affairs Council, San Francisco, Calif. (June 2005).
• Presenter, Golden Gate University School of Law, Fulbright Symposium, San Francisco, Calif. (April 2005).
• Presenter, "Reflections After the Election: Where Do We Go From Here?" CoopAmerica Green Business Conference, San Francisco, Calif. (November 2004).
• Presenter, California’s Right to Know, California Legislative Briefing Session, Senate Select Committee on International Trade, Sacramento, Calif. (October 2003).
• Presenter, "El Acceso al Agua Potable en el Eiglo XXI," Encuentro Internacional de Doctores y Doctorandos en Derecho Ambiental, Mexico City, Mexico (October 2003).
• Presenter, Panel on Water and International Law, American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C. (2003).
• Presenter, "Emerging Issues in Social/Sustainability Reporting," CERES Annual 2003 Conference on Advancing Sustainable Governance, New York, N.Y. (April 2003).
• Presenter, "Holding the U.S. Accountable: Human and Civil Rights Violations Post 9/11," UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, Calif. (March 2003).
• Presenter, "International Environmental Governance," Hastings College of the Law International Comparative Law Review and West-Northwest Journal, San Francisco, Calif. (February 2003).
• Presenter, "Holding Multinational Corporations Responsible Under International Law," Symposium, U.C. Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, Calif. (February 2003).
• Presenter, "Biotechnology and Law," Symposium, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, Calif. (May 2000).
• Presenter, Environment Panel, National Summit on Africa, Washington, D.C. (February 2000).
• Presenter, "Human Rights and Environment Session," Environmental Grantmakers Association Annual Meeting, Monterey, Calif. (October 1999).
• Presenter, "Corporate Accountability and Human Rights," Golden Gate University, 8th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, 9th Annual Fulbright Symposium on International Legal Problems, San Francisco, Calif. (March 1999).
• Presenter, "Opening the International Court of Justice to Claims of Non-State Actors," Stanford Law School, International & Domestic Perspectives Conference, Palo Alto, Calif. (May 1998).

Testimony and Hearings

Written Testimony and Commentary

Advisor or Consultant

• Advisor, United Nations Population Fund (2009). (Advised on 2009 State of the World Population Report. )

Counsel

Symposia Organization

Professional Membership

Fellowships

Other Service

• Leighton participated in Gender Equality Principles Initiative meetings and/or provided advice on how to shape the initiative (2009–2010).