Sierra Club, et. al v. U.S. Department of the Army Corps of Engineers, et. al (1st Cir. Case No. No. 20-02195)
On February 9, 2021, the Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of eleven clinical law professors in support of the appellants in Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The appellants had brought suit claiming the Corps failed to conduct a proper National Environmental Policy Act analysis of environmental harms caused by a proposed transmission line bringing power from Canada to New England. The Clinic’s brief argues that the First Circuit should endorse the serious questions test. The brief highlights that the test has been the most prevalent of various “sliding scale” approaches, which are firmly grounded in the core equitable principles of flexibility, weighing multiple factors against each other, and shaping interim relief to the unique circumstances of each case.
The appellants had brought suit claiming the Corps failed to conduct a proper National Environmental Policy Act analysis of environmental harms caused by a proposed transmission line bringing power from Canada to New England. The Clinic’s brief argues that the First Circuit should endorse the serious questions test. The brief highlights that the test has been the most prevalent of various “sliding scale” approaches, which are firmly grounded in the core equitable principles of flexibility, weighing multiple factors against each other, and shaping interim relief to the unique circumstances of each case.