Michigan Outside
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About

Michigan LCV's Green Gavels Rates Michigan Supreme Court on Conservation Cases

5/17/2012

Comments

 
Picture

Michigan LCV's Green Gavels Rates Michigan Supreme Court on Conservation Cases
by Drew YoungeDyke

ANN ARBOR --- The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (LCV), in cooperation with the Environmental Law and Policy Program at the University of Michigan Law School, has evaluated every Michigan Supreme Court decision over the past 30 years for their impacts on conservation and environmental protection. Following that analysis, Michigan LCV worked with a bipartisan advisory panel to apply ratings - red, green, or yellow gavels - to each relevant case so Michigan citizens can quickly gauge the conservation impact of each case and each justice’s opinion.

It is now available to every Michigander online at www.michiganlcv.org/greengavels.

“Green Gavels pulls back the heavy velvet curtains that have surrounded the Michigan Supreme Court for so long and allows citizens to look objectively at how each decision impacts our land, air, and water,” said Michigan LCV Executive Director Lisa Wozniak.

University of Michigan Law students, under the supervision of Professor David Uhlmann, researched and wrote objective summaries of every relevant case. Professor Uhlmann previously served as chief of the Environmental Crimes Section at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton and Bush administrations.

"Judicial decisions play a significant role in environmental protection by ensuring that our environmental laws are properly implemented. The Green Gavels project will provide greater understanding about the role of the courts in our environmental law system and enable voters to make choices that better reflect their environmental values," said Professor David Uhlmann.

Attorneys on staff at Michigan LCV applied positive, neutral, or negative ratings to each case and to each justice’s rulings. Ratings were then peer-reviewed by the bipartisan advisory panel. The University of Michigan Law School did not participate in the rating process and takes no position regarding support or opposition for any judicial candidates.

Michigan LCV already grades the State Legislature and Governor Snyder through its Legislative Scorecard and “How Green Is Your Governor?” programs, respectively. Green Gavels extends this work to the judicial branch, thereby finally holding each branch of state government accountable, the only conservation organization in the state to do so.

“The Supreme Court’s decisions touch every trout stream, every forest, every park, and every inch of Great Lakes shoreline,” said Tom Baird, a Member of the Board of Directors for the Anglers of the Au Sable and one of the lead attorneys on the landmark Anglers of the Au Sable v. DEQ Supreme Court case in 2010. “Green Gavels is a much-needed project. People need to know the impact that justices have on conservation.”

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters, a 501(C)(4) nonprofit organization, is the leading political voice for protecting Michigan’s environment. Green Gavels can be found on the Michigan LCV website at www.michiganlcv.org/ 

Comments
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    AUTHOR

    Picture
    Drew YoungeDyke is an award-winning freelance outdoor writer and  a Director of Conservation Partnerships for the National Wildlife Federation,  a board member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and a member of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers and the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association. 

    All posts at Michigan Outside are independent and do not necessarily reflect the views of NWF, Surfrider,  OWAA, AGLOW, MOWA, the or any other entity.


    ARCHIVES

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    May 2018
    September 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    December 2014
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    September 2011
    February 2011
    November 2010


    SUBJECTS

    All
    Antique Lures
    April Fools Day
    Backpacking
    Camping
    Conservation
    Deer Hunting
    Environment
    Essay
    Fishing
    Fishing Tackle
    Fitness
    Fly Fishing
    Fly Tying
    Fresh Coast
    Great Lakes
    Hunting
    Law
    Michigan
    Northern Pike
    Opinion
    Outdoors
    Poems
    Politics
    Public Land
    Recreation
    Renewable Energy Standard
    Ruffed Grouse
    Snowshoeing
    Social
    State Parks
    Surfing
    Tracking
    Trail Running
    Upland
    Wild Game
    Wildlife
    Xc Ski


    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.