David A. and Pamela F. Herr own lakefront property on Crooked Lake near Watersmeet in Gogebic County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was their dream to own a lakefront home to share with their children and grandchildren.
One protection afforded small businesses from overly burdensome federal regulations is the requirement that agencies consider the economic impact of regulations on small businesses; however, no such analysis was done regarding the “waters of the United States” rules issued by the Obama administration.
Case Summary The greater sage-grouse is not on the Endangered Species Act list. Nevertheless, the government is using the bird to illegally restrict mining in ten states and has recommended…
Since 1872, federal law guaranteed citizens a “right to mine” on most federal lands. In direct conflict with that law, Oregon banned suction dredge mining, which is the only economically feasible method of extracting gold from rivers in the national forests.
In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency released 3 million gallons of mineralized water at the Gold King Mine in Silverton, Colorado. To minimize its responsibility for the spill, the EPA hastily designated a vast area surrounding the mine as a Superfund site and thereby subjected its neighbors to financial liability for its actions.
Case Summary Issue: Whether the General Assembly can circumvent TABOR by expanding the taxing authority of RTD and SCFD without voter approval. Plaintiff: TABOR Foundation Defendants: Regional Transportation District, Scientific…
Case Summary Issue: 1. Whether the President’s recess-appointment power may be exercised during a recess that occurs within a session of the Senate, or is instead limited to recesses that…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a county can ban oil and gas drilling in violation of state law and contrary to the guarantees set forth in the U.S. and New Mexico…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the Forest Service should be allowed to conduct timber thinning operations consistent with good forestry management practices? Plaintiff: Elbram Stone Company, LLC Defendant: U.S. Forest Service,…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the total ban by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the possession of functional firearms for self-defense on Corps-managed lands violates the Second Amendment? Plaintiffs:…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a federal district court may cancel federal oil and gas leases absent proof of irreparable injury? Plaintiff: Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club Defendants: The…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a state violates the Equal Protection Clause by amending its constitution to prohibit race and sex-based discrimination or preferential treatment in public-university admissions decisions? Plaintiffs: Coalition…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the burden of proof rests on the United States to justify its retention of personal property it seized after the conclusion of its criminal investigation? Plaintiff:…
Case Summary Issue: Whether an entity with purely economic interests that is affected adversely by agency action decision may challenge the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document upon which the…
Case Summary Issue: Whether federal agencies can alter the scope of a property interest granted by Congress by redefining the scope of the grant or imposing a permitting requirement on…
Case Summary Issue: Whether federal agencies can alter the scope of a property interest granted by Congress by redefining the scope of the grant or imposing a permitting requirement on…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a city violates the “one-person, one vote” principle of the Fourteenth Amendment when it creates city council districts that, while roughly equal in total population, are…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the Public Use Clause of the Fifth Amendment prohibits a taking that the government claims is for economic development, when the evidence shows it is actually…
Case Summary Issue: Whether Alaska may claim title to lands underlying non-navigable streams that were conveyed by the federal government into private ownership prior to Statehood? Plaintiff: Lacano Investments, LLC,…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a mandatory association violates its members’ First and Fourteenth Amendments’ rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association by using the members’ compulsory dues for…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the U.S. Forest Service’s mere receipt and review of a hardrock miner’s notice of intent to exercise rights granted to him by Congress in the Mining…
Case Summary Issue: Whether a governmental entity can circumvent the Colorado Constitution’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) by labeling a tax a “fee?” Plaintiff: Colorado Union of Taxpayers Foundation Defendant:…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the Colorado General Assembly can circumvent the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) of the Colorado Constitution by granting a government-owned enterprise the power to assess taxes…
Case Summary Issue: Whether the Secretary of the Interior acted arbitrarily and capriciously when he listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act? Plaintiff: State of Alaska,…