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Moot Court Research Help

This guide provides general resources that can be helpful for moot court teams and individual resources for each moot team at Boston College Law.

General Information

Moot Court Website: Pace Law School National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

Advisor:  Professor Zygmunt J.B. Plater

Librarian contact:  Joan Shear, Legal Information Librarian

Read Your Record

All legal research should start with an analysis of the legal issues. Read your record to find out:

  • what issues are involved;
  • what legal principles you need to learn more about; and
  • what major cases the lower court relied upon.

Once you have read your record:

  • gather any legal materials mentioned in the record;
  • read the cases, statutes, regulations, and other legal precedent and note additional citations to other materials;
  • Keycite and/or Shepardize all legal material to check status and to find additional pertinent resources; and
  • look for briefs of any underlying cases to see how issues were argued in the court below.

Federal Agency Decisions

The University of Virginia Library has created a very useful set of links to federal agency administrative decisions, directives, and FOIA electronic reading rooms which can be very useful in locating agency information that does not appear in the Federal Register or the C.F.R.

Environmental Law Reporter (ELI)

Environmental Law Reporter from the Environmental Law Institute is a web-based collection of materials about the environment, health and safety, toxic torts, natural resources, and land use. It includes state, national, and international news. (BC Law School Access)

Environmental Statutes and Regulations from the EPA

The EPA provides information about the laws it administers including sumaries of the major statutes enforced byt the EPA, inforamtion about regulations promulgated under those statutes, agency guidance documents, and links to related state resources.

Endangered Species & Wetlands Report (ESWR)

Endangered Species & Wetlands Report (ESWR) covers the Endangered Species Act, and wetlands and private property rights issues. Includes federal court reports, the Fish and Wildlife Service's listing and critical habitat decisions under the ESA, wetlands regulation by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, and takings decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (2000-present). (BC Law School Access)

Accessing E&E Publications

Environment & Energy Publishing’s services – a source of objective, timely, and comprehensive information for professionals who track environment and energy policy news.  (Access is BC-wide.)