Sierra Club v. Morton 405 U.S. 727 (1972)

views updated

SIERRA CLUB v. MORTON 405 U.S. 727 (1972)

Acting as a public defender of the environment, the Sierra Club sued the secretary of the interior to enjoin approval of a ski resort development at Mineral King Valley in Sequoia National Forest. The Supreme Court, 4–3, denied the Club's right to judicial review of claimed statutory violations, for failure to allege harm to its members in their personal use of Mineral King. Significantly, however, the Court declared aesthetic and environmental interests, though widely shared, to be as deserving of judicial protection as economic interests. Thus, persons whose individual enjoyment of the environment is impaired by government action have standing to contest the action's legality.

Johnathon D. Varat
(1986)

More From encyclopedia.com