ENSP330 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE I INTRO TO THE COURTS The Commerce Clause states in the Constitution that Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce o Gives Congress the authority to pass environmental laws 3 branches of government o Legislative branch Makes laws passes statutes o Executive branch Puts statutes into practice executes the law through regulation o Judicial branch Interprets the law allows people to sue o Separation of powers The difference between the departments undoubtedly is that the legislature makes the executive executes and the judiciary construes of law Chief Justice Marshall The US Constitution o Powers of federal government and powers of state government Powers exclusively of the federal government Declare war print money enter treaties with foreign governments Powers exclusively of the state government Establish local governments conduct elections issue licenses Powers that overlap charter corporations Power to levy taxes borrow money o Branches of federal government Each branch about environmental law and policy of government has the expertise to make decisions o Bill of Rights o Later amendments Major role of the courts o Judicial review the ability of a court to review not only a statute to see if its constitutional or not but also the ability to determine if a regulation is valid under a law o Article III of the Constitution must have a case or controversy Statutes Legislative branch Regulations Executive branch EPA Establishes Judicial branch Hierarchy o Constitution US Federal Court System o US Supreme Court US Court of Appeals US District Courts US Supreme Court o 9 Justices Alito Breyer Ginsburg Kagan Kennedy swing Roberts Scalia Sotomayor Thomas o How does a case get to the US Supreme Court Writ of certiorari Latin for to be informed of The losing party petitions the Court through a writ of certiorari to hear a case The Court has a discretion to decide whether to hear the case Guided by the need for uniformity o Conflict between the lower courts o Novel or important issue o Court opinions Concurring a written of a court which agrees with the decision made by the majority of the court but states different reasons as the basis for his or her decision by one or more opinion judges Dissenting an opinion in a legal case written by one or judges more expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment they are cited from time to time as a persuasive authority when arguing that the court s holding should be limited or overturned In some cases a previous dissent is used to spur a change in the law o Stare decisis Latin to abide by or adhere to settled cases When stare decisis is followed precedent is established Judges are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions should not disturb settled matters Judges apply precedent or previous decisions to a present case When something establishes a precedent it is binding in future cases o Binding v persuasive authority Binding is when it comes from the court above you Persuasive is when it comes from the same level court Typically statutes command prohibit something or declare policy As a source of law statutes are considered primary authority Examples of statutes Clean Water Act Clean Air Act o Common law Body of law that develops from judicial decisions opinions Judge made law Points become settled on certain issues of law and form common Remains important in unregulated areas where there are no law statutes Examples of common law hydraulic fracturing o Common law is law developed by judges through and similar tribunals as opposed to statutes adopted through the legislative process or executive branch issued by the regulations decisions of courts o Common law has largely been displaced by statutory law passed by Congress with respect to most federal environmental issues o Principle of stare decisis applies to all court decisions Both cases interpreting common law and cases interpreting Statutes v common law o Statutes Civil v criminal law statutes o Civil Private rights enforcement Judicial review and citizen suits o Criminal How to read brief a case A person or entity is charged by the government with a crime Remedy can be jail egregious violations o Case name and parties o Facts o Procedural history what happened before this case o Issue s o Holding 1 issue 1 holding 2 issues 2 holdings o Result who won or lost what remedy did the court allow for Remedy either pay money or an injunction o Concurring dissenting opinions if any o Additional comments personal opinions United States v Lopez 1995 o The United States v Lopez case was the first US Supreme Court case since the early 1930 s to create laws that limit Congress s power o The law Lopez was accused of violating was called the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1990 unconstitutional o Lopez appealed his arrest by stating that the creation of the law was Lopez claimed that the laws went beyond the power of the US Congress he believed that Congress was not allowed to create laws that essentially control the public school district o Lopez s first defense failed but US Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Lopez II INTRO TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Environmental law a synthesis of pre environmental era common law rules principles from other areas of law and post environmental era statutes which are lightly influenced by the application of concepts derived from ecology and other areas of science economics and ethics Policy v law o Policy policy creation and formulation policy inputs actors political o Law interpretation of environmental law by the courts through a process the major statutes discussion of case law Common characteristics of environmental problems o Irreversible catastrophic or continuing injury o Can affect large areas and populations for long periods of time o Physically temporally distant injury o Uncertainty and risk o Multiple causes o Non economic non human character Why are legal solutions difficult o Difficult to prove causation and harm o Uncertainty about nature of problem and what to do about it o High economic costs may be imposed o Collective action needed but can be difficult to achieve o Costs and benefits may not be evenly distributed o Remaining problems are more difficult to solve III COMMON LAW Common law o Body of law that develops from judicial decisions opinions Judge made law o Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts as opposed