United States Forest Service v. Pacific Rivers Council

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
12-623	9th Cir.	Not Argued	Jun 17, 2013	TBD	TBD	OT 2013

Issue: (1) Whether respondent Pacific Rivers Council (PRC) has Article III standing to challenge the Forest Service’s 2004 programmatic amendments to the forest plans governing management of 11 Sierra Nevada Forests when PRC failed to establish that any of its members was imminently threatened with cognizable harm because he or she would come into contact with any parcel of forest affected by the amendments; (2) whether PRC’s challenge to the Forest Service’s programmatic amendments is ripe when PRC failed to identify any site-specific project authorized under the amended plan provisions to which PRC objects; and (3) whether the National Environmental Policy Act required the Forest Service, when adopting the programmatic amendments, to analyze every type of environmental effect that any project ultimately authorized under the amendments throughout the 11 affected forests might have if it was reasonably possible to do so when the programmatic amendments were adopted, even though any future site-specific project would require its own appropriate environmental analysis before going forward.

Judgment: The judgment below is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with directions that it instruct the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California to dismiss the case as moot in its entirety. on June 17, 2013.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Another case dropping off? (Lyle Denniston)
Court grants three cases (FINAL UPDATE) (Lyle Denniston)
Petition of the day (Mary Pat Dwyer)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Sep 4 2012	Application (12A219) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 18, 2012 to October 18, 2012, submitted to Justice Kennedy.
Sep 5 2012	Application (12A219) granted by Justice Kennedy extending the time to file until October 18, 2012.
Oct 5 2012	Application (12A219) to extend further the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 18, 2012 to November 16, 2012, submitted to Justice Kennedy.
Oct 9 2012	Application (12A219) granted by Justice Kennedy extending the time to file until November 16, 2012.
Nov 16 2012	Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 17, 2012)
Dec 3 2012	Waiver of right of respondents California Forestry Association, et al. to respond filed.
Dec 6 2012	Consent to the filing of amicus cuirae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondent.
Dec 11 2012	Order extending time to file response to petition to and including February 15, 2013.
Dec 17 2012	Brief amici curiae of American Forest Resource Council, et al. filed.
Dec 17 2012	Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by Public Lands Council, and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Feb 15 2013	Brief of respondent Pacific Rivers Council in opposition filed.
Feb 27 2013	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 15, 2013.
Feb 28 2013	Reply of petitioners United States Forest Service, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 18 2013	Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by Public Lands Council, and National Cattlemen's Beef Association GRANTED.
Mar 18 2013	Petition GRANTED.
Apr 12 2013	The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including June 12, 2013.
Apr 12 2013	The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 23, 2013.
Apr 26 2013	Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondent Pacific Rivers Council.
May 9 2013	Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for respondent California Forestry Association, and American Forest & Paper Association.
Jun 3 2013	Motion to vacate judgment below and dismiss as moot filed by respondent Pacific Rivers Council.
Jun 6 2013	The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is further extended to and including July 17, 2013.
Jun 6 2013	The time to file respondents' briefs on the merits is further extended to and including September 25, 2013.
Jun 7 2013	Response of petitioners to motion to vacate judgment below and dismiss as moot filed.
Jun 10 2013	Motion DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 13, 2013.
Jun 17 2013	Motion to vacate the judgment below and dismiss as moot GRANTED. The judgment below is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with directions that it instruct the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California to dismiss the case as moot in its entirety.
Jul 19 2013	JUDGMENT ISSUED

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The Supreme Court released additional orders from the January 11 conference on Monday; the justices called for the views of the U.S. solicitor general in CSX Transportation Inc. v. Alabama Department of Revenue, Alabama Department of Revenue v. CSX Transportation Inc. and Toshiba Corp. v. Automotive Industries Pension Trust Fund.
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United States Forest Service v. Pacific Rivers Council

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Argument analysis: Justices grapple with notice-and-comment rulemaking for Medicare and beyond – Abbe R. Gluck and Anne Joseph O’Connell

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