ENSP330 Regulation Statue Constitution Federal Court System US Supreme Court US Court of Appeals o 12 regional circuits o 1 federal circuit US District Courts o 94 districts Writ of Certiorari o 1 Chief Justice o 8 Associate o Final Authority o Exclusive and original disputes between 2 states Latin for to be informed of The losing party petitions the Supreme Count through a write of certiorari to hear a case If there is a need for uniformity across states The supreme Court has discretion to decide whether to heard the case Guided by the need for uniformity o Conflict between the lower courts o Novel or important issue The Citation of Supreme Court Case The 2 parties The two numbers identify the numbers of the books and the date A statute always has U S C A Code always has C F R Court Opinion Briefs filed by parties and read by justices Oral Argument Conference Opinions written o Majority o Concurrence o Dissent Precedent and stare Decisis Stare Decisis to abide by or adhere to settled cases o Look at how prior courts dealt with the issue o Only have to abide by the courts above you not even with you When stare decisis is followed precedent is established Judges apply precedent or previous decisions to present case When something establishes a precedent it is binding in future cases Binding vs Persuasive authority Common Law vs Statue Common Law o The Body of law that develops fro judicial decisions opinions o Judge made law o Points become settled on certain issues of law and from common law o Ex Nuisance requires causations and harm o Remains important in unregulated areas o Ex The pitbull case from Maryland Statue o Written by Congress and signed by the president o Ex Clean Water Act Clean Air Act o State law also included Critical Area Law Vs o Common law has largely been displaced by statutory aw passed by Congress with respect to most federal environment issues o Principle of stare decisis applies to all court decisions Common law Interpretation of statues How to Read and Brief a Case Case Name and Parties Facts Procedural History Issue s Holding Analysis or Rationale Result Concurring and Dissenting Opinion Introduction to Environmental Problems What is Environmental Law environment A set of rules for managing the interface between humans and the Common law and ordinances today s major environmental laws Policy vs Laws Interpretation of environmental laws by the courts through discussion of case law Arctic Case Study Issue Spotting Environment vs Economy Uncertain outcomes Regulation o How much o When to act Stakeholders Air Pollution Whales Common Characteristics of Environmental Problems Irreversible catastrophic or continuing injury Physically distant injury Temporally distant injury Uncertainty and Risk Multiple Causes Non economic non0human character o Loss of species o Loss of wilderness areas Require collective action Why are Legal Solutions Difficult Difficult to prove causation and harm Uncertainty about nature of problems and what to do about it High economic costs may be imposed Costs and benefits may not be evenly distributed So How does the law respond Values Stakeholders All actors included in the insulted courts Law vs Ethics o Law in conformity with the law Enforceable Applies to all environment Uncertain Multiple outcomes Common Law o Ethics proper conducts defines relationship between humans and the Distinguished from statutory law created by Congress The body of principles and rules which derived from judgments and decrees of the courts Before statutes common law used to handle environmental conflict Federal Common law has largely been eclipsed by federal environmental statues BUT it remains important because o Common law AND its inadequacies used in the development of statues o Remains a safety net where there is no federal statue State common law used for in state disputes Toxic Torts Torts civil wrong or injury o Ex Trespass Nuisance BP oil sill hydraulic fracturing Remedy o Money Damages o Injunction Trespass Intention Physical Invasion of Another s property o Actual physical invasion required o Need not show harm or actual damage o Ex Scraps of a construction debris Garbage Toxic dust Private Nuisance Unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of land o No physical invasion necessary o Must show causation o Must show significant or substantial harm Strict Liability Strong Protection Industrial revolution balancing harm against economic benefits of industrialization Is it a nuisance o Requiring increasing severity of harm and stronger causal links What relief o Money damages or injunctions Madison v Ducktown Tenn 1904 o Smoke from the smelter was destroying trees and crops o Couldn t use their property the way they used to use it o Courts found that it was a nuisance but rewarded a monetary value and didn t shut it down Causation only plant around Damage clear o Courts engaged in balancing since the plant was a huge economic contributor What level of risk requires injunction o Tennessee Supreme court Public Nuisance and interstate pollution An unreasonable interference with a right common to the public Brought by government agencies Usually against non resident polluters o Don t want to hurt their own economy Missouri vs Illinois 1906 o Went straight to the Supreme Court because it was between two states o Claimed they were affected by raw sewage that they traced back to Chicago Increase incidents of typhoid fever o Courts said they don t have enough evidence to show that the bacteria can travel all the way down the river o St Louis changed way of recording deaths Not that significantly increase o Could have been other Missouri sewage also going into the river Unclean hands o What might have changed the outcome If Missouri had treated its own sewage Georgia v Tennessee Copper 1907 o Same set as facts as the Maddison v Duckworth o Brought a public nuisance for the welfare of their state o GA had sued and Copper only agreed to reduce their emissions which the only made taller smoke stacks which made it worse o Copper got an injunction GA economy wasn t effected by the shut down so they had no reason to not try and keep their profits up Questions What s the difference between Madison and Ga o Public v Private Difference between Missouri and GA o No causation and able to prove causation What are the relative benefits of money damages vs injections Are judge s suited to formulating emissions levels Notes American Electric Power Co INC vs