Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Office: 130, Telephone: 687-9264 H.Robertson@csuohio.edu Environmental Law Environmental Law and Regulation (L671) Course Requirements Class Meetings This course “meets” twice a week It is a hybrid course conducted half via Zoom and half asynchronously on-line Our first ‘class’ will be asynchronous, on-line, and available via Blackboard on Friday, August 21, 2020 The first assignment is due on August 25 by 11:59 a.m We will meet live via Zoom every Thursday beginning Thursday, August 27, 2020 Our in-person classes will meet on Thursdays from 4:15-5:45 PM via Zoom Our other class session for each week will be conducted asynchronously – meaning you may that class session whenever you’d like, as long as it’s prior to the next Zoom class which might rely on its material Unless otherwise indicated, you must complete the assignments for a given on-line session by noon each Tuesday This is to ensure you have sufficient time to complete it and also to prepare for the Zoom class on Thursdays The on-line class will become available, at the latest, the Friday prior to each Tuesday due-date Please Note: This is a 3-credit course for which, as with any 3-credit course, you should expect to spend about hours per week on coursework, in addition to the classroom time Required Texts We will be using two books as our primary texts and one as a required writing supplement Environmental Law Practice: Problems and Exercises for Skills Development, Fourth Edition, by Jerry L Anderson and Dennis D Hirsch Please use the 4th edition of this book, available at the CSU bookstore, or here: https://www.amazon.com/Jerry-LAnderson/dp/1531005314/ref=sr_1_1? dchild=1&keywords=environmental+law+practice&qid=1593629693&sr=8-1 Mastering Environmental Law, by Joel A Mintz and Tracy Hester, available at the CSU bookstore or here: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Environmental-Law-Joel-Mintzebook/dp/B07XH5J1KM/ref=sr_1_1? dchild=1&keywords=mastering+environmental+law&qid=1593629871&sr=8-1 Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Environmental Law and Regulation Steven W Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, C|M|LAW Professor of Environmental Studies, Levin College of Urban Affairs Cleveland State University Office: LB130, Email: H.Robertson@csuohio.edu Fall 2019 Plain English for Lawyers, by Richard C Wydick (Carolina Academic Press) There are many editions of this book I don’t mind which edition you use, or whether you buy it new or used There are used copies of the 4th edition available for as little as $1.19 available here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offerlisting/0890899940/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?sprefix=plain+english+for+ %2Caps %2C172&crid=1R6U9ZMYA53IJ&keywords=plain+english+for+lawyers&pd_r d_i=0890899940&qid=1593629972&cv_ct_cx=plain+english+for+lawyers&pf_r d_p=1da5beeb-8f71-435c-b5c53279a6171294&pf_rd_r=G4CRMJA061B4DD968V75&pd_rd_wg=fGEp3&pd_r d_w=oiJDd&pd_rd_r=826b6b70-ac2e-4bbe-ba66-17047a2251cd&sr=1-170f7c15d-07d8-466a-b325-4be35d7258cc&psc=1&dchild=1 In addition, some course materials will be available on-line through the course Blackboard site What to expect Please come to class fully prepared to participate This means more than reading the assignment before class Please think about the assignment and be ready to discuss it Often this means reading the material more than once I base a meaningful portion of your course grade (the “attendance, participation and preparedness” portion) on the quality and quantity of your class participation If you cannot be properly prepared for class on a particular day and prefer that I not call on you, please let me know before class My favorite bird is the common loon I will not call on you on that day provided unpreparedness does not become a habit If I not hear from you in advance of the class, I will assume you are fully prepared and able to engage in the discussion Please come to all scheduled Zoom class sessions unless it is imperative that you miss a class Your consistent presence and participation are important components of the course, not only for you, but also for your classmates Per ABA requirements, I take note of daily class attendance Attendance also plays an important role in my calculation of your final grade If you miss two live classes or more, I will drop your score in the “attendance, participation and preparedness” portion of your grade Bruce Springsteen is by far my favorite rock star I not track excused or unexcused absences, so you don’t Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Environmental Law and Regulation Steven W Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, C|M|LAW Professor of Environmental Studies, Levin College of Urban Affairs Cleveland State University Office: LB130, Email: H.Robertson@csuohio.edu Fall 2019 need to give me any explanations— but be careful not to waste an absence that you may need in a later emergency Please come to class on time and remain in the classroom until class is over It messes me up and is disruptive to your classmates jump in and out of class Please take care of your personal needs before class begins If I can make it through a hour and 15-minute class, you can, too Of course, in an emergency, well, you know For our Zoom classes, please follow these guidelines: a Keep your video ON during class This makes it feel more like we’re all in the room together b Mute yourself at the start of class Barking dogs, ringing phones, roommates’ music don’t work well for the rest of us c Use the blue “raise hand” button to let me know you have a question or comment When I call on you, speakup, then re-mute yourself d Complete the end-of-class survey This is how I record attendance when on Zoom and also how I gather questions and feedback on the class Unless otherwise indicated, assignments from the on-line portion of the course will be DUE weekly no later than Tuesdays at 11:49 a.m Policy on Tape Recording Class Generally, I don’t allow students to record my class But these are strange time I will record our Zoom classes and make them available to you with a password Policy on Laptop Computers and other Electronics You may use laptops or tablets in my class, but not violate these rules: I consider it a violation of C|M’s Honor Code to have any internet programs open or active during class time other than those we are using for specifically for class at that moment This means you may not check your email or Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Environmental Law and Regulation Steven W Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, C|M|LAW Professor of Environmental Studies, Levin College of Urban Affairs Cleveland State University Office: LB130, Email: H.Robertson@csuohio.edu Fall 2019 sports scores, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc., or play Candy Crush, Wordscapes, Flappy Birds, or whatever else you guys do! The reasons for this rule have more to with your classmates than with you My dog is a miniature poodle named Camden It is extremely distracting for those around you when you use electronics in these ways, and that is not acceptable I view it as a violation of the law school’s Honor Code (“interference with the education process of another student”) and I will submit violations of this rule to the Honor Council Although whether you use a laptop for notetaking in this class is absolutely your call, please try not to type everything I say in class Take notes, rather than dictation If you take dictation, you will miss too much of what is going on around you and may find yourself unable to participate in class in a meaningful way For Students with Disabilities Educational access is the provision of classroom accommodations, auxiliary aids and services to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of their disability Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services at (216)6872015 The Office is located in MC 147 Accommodations need to be requested in advance and will not be granted retroactively Questions and Office Hours I will hold office hours Tuesdays from 12:15 to 2:00 p.m., and I may schedule additional hours at other times, in-person or virtual, as needed Please feel free to send me quick questions by email anytime, but be aware that I may forward your question, along with my answer to it, to the entire class If it is a question that will require a lengthy explanation, please come to my office hours rather than asking the question by email I may not be able to type out a sufficient answer by email and would rather discuss it with you in person Please stop by and see me (LB130) at any time except the hour immediately before class I will be busy preparing for class at that time! If you need to see me outside my office hours, please stop by, or you may make a specific appointment If so, just send me an email (h.robertson@csuohio.edu) and we can set it up Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Environmental Law and Regulation Steven W Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, C|M|LAW Professor of Environmental Studies, Levin College of Urban Affairs Cleveland State University Office: LB130, Email: H.Robertson@csuohio.edu Fall 2019 Grading and Exams During the semester, each student will participate in a research workshop The research workshop will consist of a one-class session in the law library, during which the students will work in groups with C| M law librarians to research and analyze a problem Students will outline a written response to the problem, and will submit both their research log and their written outline In addition, there will be a regulatory review project towards the end of the semester I will explain more about it later Please turn in assignments on time, typed, double-spaced, in a reasonable font size and with reasonable margins Please put page numbers on the bottom of every page Law students must use proper "Bluebook" format for citations Girl scout samoas cookies are the best Graduate students from other colleges should use the citation format of their own discipline Please keep a copy of everything you submit For law students, I will grade this course according to the law school grading guidelines for upper level courses and, if requested, can make a copy of that policy available to you Graduate students in non-law fields will be graded separately from law students in all aspects of the course, but with the same percentage proportions listed below Unless I let you know otherwise, I will weight your grades as follows: Attendance, Participation & Preparedness 10% Research workshop, on-line class work 35% Regulations project/presentation 15% Final Examination (short take-home) 40% 100%