U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-547 | 9th Cir. | Nov 2, 2020 | Mar 4, 2021 | 7-2 | Barrett | OT 2020 |
Holding: The deliberative process privilege gives protection from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act to in-house draft biological opinions that are both predecisional and deliberative, even if the drafts reflect the agencies' last views about a proposal.
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 7-2, in an opinion by Justice Barrett on March 4, 2021. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Sotomayor joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Court favors deliberative-process privilege protections over FOIA transparency goals (Alejandro Camacho and Melissa Kelly, March 6, 2021)
- In Barrett's first majority opinion, court sides with government in FOIA dispute (James Romoser, March 4, 2021)
- Argument analysis: Court considers bright-line and case-specific standards for the Freedom of Information Act's "deliberative process" privilege (Alejandro Camacho and Melissa Kelly, November 4, 2020)
- Case preview: Court will consider the scope of transparency under the Freedom of Information Act's key "deliberative process" privilege (Alejandro Camacho and Melissa Kelly, October 30, 2020)
- Justices will hear argument in ACA case one week after Election Day (Amy Howe, August 19, 2020)
- More on today's orders (Amy Howe, March 2, 2020)
- Relist Watch Select (John Elwood, February 28, 2020)
- Petitions of the week (Andrew Hamm, November 22, 2019)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 08/16/2019 | Application (19A185) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 28, 2019 to September 27, 2019, submitted to Justice Kagan. |
| 08/19/2019 | Application (19A185) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until September 27, 2019. |
| 09/17/2019 | Application (19A185) to extend further the time from September 27, 2019 to October 25, 2019, submitted to Justice Kagan. |
| 09/17/2019 | Application (19A185) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until October 25, 2019. |
| 10/25/2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 27, 2019) |
| 11/01/2019 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 27, 2019 to January 6, 2020, submitted to The Clerk. |
| 11/06/2019 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 6, 2020. |
| 01/06/2020 | Brief of respondent Sierra Club, Inc. in opposition filed. |
| 01/22/2020 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2020. |
| 01/22/2020 | Reply of petitioners United States Fish and Wildlife Service,, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/24/2020 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/28/2020. |
| 03/02/2020 | Petition GRANTED. |
| 03/13/2020 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| 03/16/2020 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including May 18, 2020. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including July 20, 2020. |
| 04/09/2020 | Motion for a further extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| 04/21/2020 | Motion to further extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is further extended to and including May 21, 2020. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is further extended to and including July 27, 2020. |
| 05/21/2020 | Brief of petitioners United States Fish and Wildlife Service, et al. filed. |
| 05/21/2020 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 06/02/2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Sierra Club, Inc. |
| 07/27/2020 | Brief of respondent Sierra Club, Inc. filed. |
| 07/31/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife filed. |
| 08/03/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Privacy Information Center filed. |
| 08/03/2020 | Brief amici curiae of American Forest Resource Council, et al. filed. |
| 08/03/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 28 Media Organizations filed. |
| 08/03/2020 | Brief amici curiae of ACLU, et al. filed. |
| 08/03/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Andrew Rosenberg, et al. filed. |
| 08/19/2020 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, November 2, 2020. |
| 08/26/2020 | Reply of petitioners United States Fish and Wildlife Service, et al. filed. |
| 08/31/2020 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit. |
| 09/02/2020 | CIRCULATED |
| 09/03/2020 | Record from the U.S.C.A. is electronic and located on Pacer. |
| 09/28/2020 | Sealed record material from USCA-9 received (electronic). |
| 11/02/2020 | Argued. For petitioners: Matthew Guarnieri, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Sanjay Narayan, Oakland, Cal. |
| 03/04/2021 | Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Breyer, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Sotomayor, J., joined. |
| 04/05/2021 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |