Library of Congress
The Sierra Club will deeply miss Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s fierce voice on the Supreme Court. We mourn the loss of her leadership, her courage, her warmth.
Read the following Q&A and see if you detect a trend…
Q : Would an irrigation district have standing in court to challenge a biological opinion under the Endangered Species Act limiting its irrigation flows
A: Yes
Q: Should the Supreme Court resolve cases by interpreting statutes rather than adopting restrictions on who can gain access to the courts
A: Yes
Q: Does a citizen group have standing to sue a polluter even after the polluter stops its conduct during the lawsuit?
A: Yes
Q: Do the states have standing to sue the EPA over its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide pollution from cars and trucks?
A: Yes
Q: Should environmental advocates have standing to sue to challenge rules weakening the public process for timber sales, even though such sales occur across a wide swath of public lands?
A: Yes
Q: Does a homeowner have the right to seek judicial review of an EPA order compelling them to restore wetlands on their property?
A: Yes
Justice Ginsburg may not have always ruled for the environmental advocates, but she sure wanted everybody to have their day in court. Perhaps she had the precognition that when the bad guys know they can’t win, they simply bar the courthouse doors. Let’s hope a new Justice shares Justice Ginsurg’s love and respect for an open courthouse.