CASE BRIEF MODULE 3 CRM 321
You are to brief the following case:
U.S. v. Sixty Acres in Etowah County, 930 F.2d 857 (11th Cir. 1991)
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Case Brief: U.S. v. Sixty Acres in Etowah County
Citation
U.S. v. Sixty Acres in Etowah County, 930 F.2d 857 (11th Cir. 1991)
Facts
In 1987, the United States government filed a complaint against Sixty Acres in Etowah County, a parcel of land located in Alabama, seeking to enforce environmental regulations. The government alleged that the defendants had violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into navigable waters without obtaining a permit.
Procedural History
The case was initially brought before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, which ruled in favor of the government. The defendants appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Issue
The main issue before the court was whether the defendants had violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into navigable waters without obtaining a permit.
Holding/Decision
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court and held that the defendants had indeed violated the Clean Water Act.
Reasoning
The court relied on the language of the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. It found that the defendants had discharged pollutants, including sediment and other contaminants, into nearby streams and wetlands without obtaining a permit from the appropriate regulatory agency.
The court rejected the defendants’ argument that their activities did not fall within the scope of the Clean Water Act because the discharges did not directly enter navigable waters but instead flowed into nearby wetlands. The court held that wetlands are considered “waters of the United States” under the Act and are therefore protected from pollution.
Additionally, the court found that the defendants’ actions were not exempted under any provision of the Clean Water Act. It concluded that the defendants were aware of their obligation to obtain a permit and intentionally chose to discharge pollutants without one.
Significance/Impact
The case of U.S. v. Sixty Acres in Etowah County is significant as it reaffirms the broad scope of protection provided by the Clean Water Act. The court’s ruling clarifies that wetlands are considered “waters of the United States” and are therefore subject to regulation under the Act, even if they are not directly connected to navigable waters.
This decision serves as a reminder to individuals and businesses that they must obtain the necessary permits before discharging pollutants into any water bodies, including wetlands. It underscores the importance of protecting water resources and maintaining environmental standards to prevent pollution and safeguard public health.
