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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND LAW

Analyzing Case Law

Case Law refers to decisions that are made by a court and are published as judicial decisions. When using the case study method, students are encouraged to carry out the following steps:

  • Review the background information and the facts in the case.

  • Determine the main issue in the case.

  • Examine alternative arguments on the issue in the case.

  • Consider the decision (both majority and dissenting opinions) and legal reasoning in the case.

For a thorough understanding or how to interpret legal citations you can go to "Introduction to Basic Legal Citation." For a brief introduction to reading court decisions, go to the following web links:

Deciphering a Case:

When you access case law you can expect to see a set of notations that may be new to you. Here is an introduction to deciphering cases that you might find useful:

A citation to a court case includes the elements shown in the following example:

Roe v. Wade, 93 S.Ct. 705 (1973).

Roe v. Wade = These are the names of the parties in the case. The first name listed is the plaintiff, the party bringing the suit. The second name is the defendant. If the defendant loses in the trial court and appeals the court's decision, the defendant's name may be listed first in the appellate case.

93 = "93" indicates the volume number of the case reporter which contains the full text of the court's decision.

S.Ct. = This is the abbreviation for the case reporter, Supreme Court Reporter, which contains the full text of the court's decision.

705 = "705" is the first page of the case.

1973 = "1973" is the year that the case was decided.

Frequently Used Reporter Abbreviations: 

United States Supreme Court Decisions

U. S. = United States Reports

S. Ct. = Supreme Court Reporter

L. Ed. = United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition (also L. Ed. 2d, second series)

Lower Federal Courts

F., F.2d, F.3d = Federal Reporter (three different series)

F. Supp. = Federal Supplement

F.R.D. = Federal Rules Decisions

State Courts and Regional Reporters

A., A.2d = Atlantic Reporter, Atlantic Reporter second series

Cal.Rptr., Cal.Rptr.2d = California Reporter, California Reporter second series

N.E., N.E.2d = Northeastern Reporter, Northeastern Reporter second series

N.W., N.W.2d = Northwestern Reporter, Northwestern Reporter second series

N.Y.S., N.Y.S.2d = New York Supplement, New York Supplement second series

P., P.2d = Pacific Reporter, Pacific Reporter second series

S.E., S.E.2d = Southeastern Reporter, Southeastern Reporter second series

So., So.2d = Southern Reporter, Southern Reporter second series

S.W., S.W.2d = Southwestern Reporter, Southwestern Reporter second series

To determine the meaning of other legal abbreviations, consult the most recent edition of Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations :Reference Guide for Attorneys, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals and Law Students. Mary Miles Prince ed., 4th ed. [Reference: KF246 .B46 1993].

 

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