Sierra Club v. Morton
- Decided
- April 19, 1972
- Docket
- 70-34
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,248 timesSuperseded by statute (verified)Possible negative treatment: superseded by statute (1 of 3 verified; none is a verified overruling) · Abbott v. BP Exploration and Production Inc.
What later courts said
- holding that an organization’s abstract interest in a problem, without direct harm, is insufficient to establish standing — Fair Housing Council v. Roommate. Com, LLC (2012)
- concluding that court need not consider whether claims fall within zone of interests of statutes implicated because plaintiffs had failed to establish injury in fact — Andross v. Town of West Hartford (2008)
- holding that an environmental group lacked standing to challenge national park development because it lacked an injury — United States Ex Rel. Riley v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (1997)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Mr. Justice Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
I
The Mineral King Valley is an area of great natural beauty nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Tulare County, California, adjacent to Sequoia National Park. It has been part of the Sequoia National Forest since 1926, and is designated as a national game refuge by special Act of Congress.[1] Though once the site of extensive mining activity, Mineral King is now used almost exclusively for recreational purposes. Its relative inaccessibility and lack of development have limited the number of visitors each year, and at the same time have preserved the valley’s quality as a quasi-wilderness area largely uncluttered by the products of civilization.
Statutes cited
Cite this
Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (1972)Read the full opinion
Reading the library on this site uses your account’s daily calls, the same as the connector and the API. The Free plan needs no card. Calls a day on each plan.