Law clerks regularly write “legal memos” to help prepare sitting judges for upcoming court cases. Such memos need to describe the disagreement thoroughly and objectively (without bias/opinion) and to make sure the judge is fully informed about all of the persuasive arguments on both sides. For “legal memos” clerks also provide a summary of important court cases and legal opinions that might provide insight or set important precedents the judge should be aware of.

Write a “legal memo” about a controversial issue (inspired by Radioactive).

The Framework for the Rough and Final Drafts: Explain the debate itself and use research about the “status quo” to provide context. Get us up to speed on the issue with credible and current research. You may need to provide information about how nuclear waste is disposed/stored, or what laws surround animal testing, for example. Detail all of the persuasive arguments on both sides of the issue. Be very thorough, and be fair to both sides. Just present the most important arguments used by both sides and explain them individually.

Draw conclusions about the values in conflict and/or the “stakes” or “stakeholders” in conflict, anything that can provide some analysis of what people are “fighting for” on both sides of an issue.

In other words: What does each side believe is at stake? What values are in conflict? Stay unbiased here- just report based on what you observe to be the “bigger picture.” Give each thinker (Asma, Sandel, Singer) their own paragraph, and in each paragraph consider how each would respond to the specific arguments and larger values in conflict on both sides, using their own words, directly or indirectly