No. 23-525

Murphy Company, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, et al.

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2023-11-17
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (4) Experienced Counsel
Tags: antiquities-act federal-land-management federal-lands land-use-restrictions national-monument national-monuments oregon-and-california-railroad-and-coos-bay-wagon- presidential-authority presidential-power statutory-interpretation sustained-yield-timber-production
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2024-03-22
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Antiquities Act authorizes the President to declare federal lands part of a national monument where a separate federal statute reserves those specific federal lands for a specific purpose that is incompatible with national-monument status

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the President, “in [his] discretion,” to declare that “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” found on federal land are “national monuments” and to “reserve parcels of land as a part of the national monuments” so long as those parcels are “confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” 54 U.S.C. 320301. Three decades after that Act’s passage, in the Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act), Congress reserved certain federal lands in Oregon for “permanent forest production,” mandating that “the timber thereon shall be sold, cut, and removed in conformity with the princip|[le] of sustained yield” timber production. 43 U.S.C. 2601. In 2017, President Obama invoked the Antiquities Act to add O&C Act timberlands to an existing Oregon national monument established to protect biological diversity, see Proclamation 9564, 82 Fed. Reg. 6,145 (Jan. 12, 2017)—despite the fact that lands that are part of that monument may not be used in “provision of a sustained yield of timber,” Proclamation 7318, 65 Fed. Reg. 37,249, 37,250 (June 9, 2000). The question presented is whether the Antiquities Act authorizes the President to declare federal lands part of a national monument where a separate federal statute reserves those specific federal lands for a specific purpose that is incompatible with national-monument status.

Docket Entries

2024-03-25
Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.
2024-03-06
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/22/2024.
2024-03-05
2024-02-16
Brief of Federal Respondents in opposition filed.
2024-02-16
Brief of respondents Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, et al. in opposition filed.
2024-01-11
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 16, 2024, for all respondents.
2024-01-10
Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 17, 2024 to February 16, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
2023-12-18
2023-12-15
2023-12-14
Brief amici curiae of Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce and NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Inc. filed.
2023-12-13
Brief amici curiae of Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen's Beef Association filed.
2023-12-12
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 17, 2024, for all respondents.
2023-12-11
Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 18, 2023 to January 17, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
2023-11-15
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 18, 2023)

Attorneys

Biden, President of U.S., et al., et al.
Elizabeth B. Prelogar — Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Murphy Company, et al.
Donald B. Verrilli Jr.Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Petitioner
Donald B. Verrilli Jr.Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Petitioner
New Civil Liberties Alliance; Arizona Farm Bureau Federation
Kara McKenna RollinsNew Civil Liberties Alliance, Amicus
Kara McKenna RollinsNew Civil Liberties Alliance, Amicus
Pacific Legal Foundation
Frank Dawson GarrisonPacific Legal Foundation, Amicus
Frank Dawson GarrisonPacific Legal Foundation, Amicus
Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Jessie BarringtonWestern Resources Legal Center, Petitioner
Jessie BarringtonWestern Resources Legal Center, Petitioner
Representative Cliff Bentz and 28 members of Congress
Jay Christopher JohnsonVenable LLP, Amicus
Jay Christopher JohnsonVenable LLP, Amicus
Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce and NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Inc.
Ivan Laurence LondonMountain States Legal Foundation, Amicus
Ivan Laurence LondonMountain States Legal Foundation, Amicus
Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Oregon Wild, Wilderness Society
Kristen L. BoylesEarthjustice, Respondent
Kristen L. BoylesEarthjustice, Respondent