High Court Probes the Reach Of the Endangered Species Act

摘要

On the first day of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court began delving into a case centering on the scope of the Endangered Species Act. Based on the Oct. 1 oral arguments in the case, Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the court seemed divided. With one vacancy on the court, eight justices took part in the hearing, raising the possibility of a 4-4 ruling later this term. Liberals on the court quizzed attorney Timothy Bishop, representing the landowners who brought the case, about their positions. Conservative justices focused their questions on Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler, representing Fish and Wildlife, asking, for example, about the costs of habitat designation.