Supreme Court 2021 Term Roundup: Environmental Law and the States

- Tuesday, July 19, 2022
- 12:30pm–1:45pm ET
- Online Event
- Register here
Join appellate advocates and state Solicitors General on Tuesday, July 19 from 12:30pm — 1:45pm ET for a conversation about the term’s cases and the impact that those cases could have on states and environmental law. This program is co-hosted by the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and the State and Local Legal Center.
Registration is required. A confirmation email will include a link to join the webinar. We encourage you to submit questions in advance to tiernaur.[email protected]nyu.edu. We will also take questions during the webinar using the Q&A feature.
Speakers

Benjamin Gutman
Solicitor General, Oregon Attorney General

Mithun Mansinghani
Solicitor General, Oklahoma Attorney General

Lindsay See
Solicitor General, West Virginia Attorney General

Steven Wu
Chief of Appeals, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; Former Deputy Solicitor General, New York Attorney General

Kirti Datla
Moderator
Director of Strategic Legal Advocacy, Earthjustice
Written Materials
This event is seeking approval for New York State CLE credit. If approved, it will be appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys.
Supreme Court Cases
2021 Term — Argued or Decided
- Mississippi v. Tennessee (decided 11/22/21)
- Holding: The waters of the Middle Claiborne Aquifer are subject to the judicial remedy of equitable apportionment; Mississippi’s complaint is dismissed without leave to amend.
- New York State Rifle & Postil Assn., Inc. v. Bruen (decided 6/23/22)
- Issue(s): Whether the state of New York’s denial of petitioners’ applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment.
- U.S. v. Vaello Madero (decided 4/21/22)
- Holding: The Constitution does not require Congress to extend Supplemental Security Income benefits to residents of Puerto Rico.
- Biden v. Missouri (decided 1/13/22)
- Issue(s): (1) Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1225 requires the Department of Homeland Security to continue implementing the Migrant Protection Protocols, a former policy under which certain noncitizens arriving at the southwest border were returned to Mexico during their immigration proceedings; and (2) whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit erred by concluding that the secretary of homeland security’s new decision terminating MPP had no legal effect.
- Arizona v. San Francisco, CA (dismissed 6/15/22)
- Issue(s): (1) Whether states with interests should be permitted to intervene to defend a rule when the United States ceases to defend.
- West Virginia v. EPA (decided 6/30/22)
- Issue(s): Whether, in 42 U.S.C. § 7411(d), an ancillary provision of the Clean Air Act, Congress constitutionally authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to issue significant rules — including those capable of reshaping the nation’s electricity grids and unilaterally decarbonizing virtually any sector of the economy — without any limits on what the agency can require so long as it considers cost, nonair impacts and energy requirements.
- Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety (decided 6/29/22)
- Issue(s): Whether Congress has the power to authorize suits against nonconsenting states pursuant to its constitutional war powers.
- Viking River Cruises, Inc. (decided 6/15/22)
- Issue(s): Whether the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of a bilateral arbitration agreement providing that an employee cannot raise representative claims, including under the California Private Attorneys General Act.
- Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (decided 6/29/22)
- Issue(s): Whether a state has authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country.
2022 Term — Not yet set for argument
- Sackett v. EPA
- Issue(s): Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7).
- National Pork Producers Council v. Ross
- Issue(s): (1) Whether allegations that a state law has dramatic economic effects largely outside of the state and requires pervasive changes to an integrated nationwide industry state a violation of the dormant commerce clause, or whether the extraterritoriality principle described in the Supreme Court’s decisions is now a dead letter; and (2) whether such allegations, concerning a law that is based solely on preferences regarding out-of-state housing of farm animals, state a claim under Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc.
Publications
- Davis Noll, A Battle Over Major Questions Is Brewing in the High Court (2022)
- Davis Noll, With the ACE Rule Cert Grant, Where Is the Court Headed? (2022)