Supreme Court Argument Report: Environmental Groups Out on a Limb?

The Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed receptive to government arguments that a coalition of environmental groups lacked standing to bring a challenge to U.S. Forest Service regulations because their claims were not tied to a specific site or project. Also on Wednesday, the Court considered a highly anticipated case concerning limitation of Navy sonar training exercises because of the environmental impact on marine mammals, as well as a key employment dispute that asks whether employees can bring retaliation claims based on cooperation with internal sexual harassment investigations. In the Forest Service case, Summers v. Earth Island Institute, the environmental organizations challenged regulations under the Forest Service's Appeals Reform Act that exempted certain projects from notice, comment and appeal... [read full story]