Paper 1 requires you to review a judicial decision in an environmental law case (read the actual case decision written by the judge, not an article analysis or summary). If you are an environmental professional, you may want to write about a decision that is relevant to the work of your business or agency, or, you may choose a decision about an issue that interests you. The decision may be from either a state or federal Court (for example, the Colorado Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, or the U.S. Supreme Court). You must include the full name and citation of the case in your references so that I can retrieve the full case opinion.
Write this paper as if you are an environmental professional in a company, government agency, or nonprofit group, and your supervisor has asked you to prepare a written synopsis of a case that affects your business, agency, or organization.
The written synopsis can be only four pages max (not including references page), must follow the Assignment Format in the Syllabus (for header, page numbers, etc.), and should include the following information:
A concise description of the issues presented in the case, including identification of the parties and a summary of the main arguments raised by the plaintiff and defendant.
A discussion of the analysis the court applied in reaching the decision: discuss the environmental laws they interpreted and the facts the court found significant.
Identify the major findings or decision(s) reached by the court (including any concurring or dissent opinions).
Finally, briefly describe the effect the decision may have upon the practicing environmental community (managers, scientists, advocates, citizens, etc.). This is why this case is relevant to your hypothetical audience receiving the memo: your employer. [This will not be in the case opinion, but your own personal analysis and writing].
The attached is a page of research tips that also includes a video link explaining how to search and find actual case opinions that is highly recommended to help you complete your paper: Case law research tips.pdf
