Tell your senators to keep the Supreme Court fair!
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Fill out the information to the right to take action now!
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The Supreme Court has the final say on whether to uphold and enforce -- or limit and strike down -- the laws that safeguard our nation's air, water, wildlife, and wilderness. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement means our most basic environmental laws may be in jeopardy. As a mainstream conservative justice, Justice O'Connor often cast the decisive vote in favor of protecting environmental safeguards enjoyed by all Americans. For this reason, the question of who will fill the vacancy created by her departure holds serious consequences for the future of our environment. Given the President's track record of sending the Senate controversial judicial nominees who are outside the mainstream -- like Janice Rogers Brown and William Myers III -- there is good reason to be concerned.
Earthjustice has led the conservation community’s efforts to ensure that those confirmed to lifetime judgeships will fairly uphold and enforce legal safeguards and will not be biased in favor of powerful special interests. We know just how hard we must work to preserve the Supreme Court's vital role in protecting the environment -- and we need your help to make it happen. Please take action TODAY!
Take the first step: Tell your senators to make sure the new Supreme Court justice is not biased against laws that protect our environment!
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| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Support a pro-conservation Supreme Court nominee
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
The Supreme Court plays a vital role in ensuring the protection of public health and our environment, as well as many of the other rights we have come to enjoy as citizens of this great country. In light of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement, it is crucial that you help ensure the Court continues to serve the best interests of all Americans.
As your constituent, I urge you to insist that President Bush meaningfully consult with Democratic and Republican senators before selecting a Supreme Court nominee. I also trust that you will do everything in your power to ensure that any nominee is fair and unbiased, and has a record that demonstrates he or she will fairly uphold and enforce laws that protect our environment.
Justice O'Connor was recommended by a Democratic senator, nominated by President Ronald Reagan, and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. It is important that President Bush select a consensus nominee who will garner the same bipartisan support.
As a U.S. Senator, you are responsible for ensuring that the next nominee to the highest court in the nation will uphold the laws that protect citizens from pollution, safeguard our natural resources from irresponsible exploitation, and conserve our natural heritage for future generations to enjoy.
Thank you for considering my input.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
July 06, 2005
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The Supreme Court’s environmental reach:
The Supreme Court decides whether to uphold and enforce -- or limit and strike down -- the laws that safeguard the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places where we live, work, and enjoy the outdoors. The Court is the ultimate judge of whether those laws authorize or prohibit a wide range of activities affecting our air, water, land, wildlife, forests, and oceans. From the moment modern federal environmental laws were enacted, the Supreme Court has played a major role in shaping and interpreting them. The Court has issued numerous important decisions on the application, scope, and constitutionality of pollution control statutes like the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and federal hazardous waste laws, as well as the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Wilderness Act, and other laws that protect our lands and natural resources.
The changing face of the Supreme Court:
Justice O’Connor’s retirement will create the first Supreme Court vacancy since 1994. Any one retirement has the potential to drastically affect the balance of the Court. For example, in one recent term, nearly one-third of the Court’s decisions were split 5-4. One or more new justices could affect many cases in which the Court has been narrowly divided on both the result and the scope of its rulings.
If the next justice fails to support our nation’s environmental laws, decades of environmental progress could be reversed within the next few years. The Senate’s refusal to confirm pro-mining activist William Myers III to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates that nominees who are hostile to environmental protections will meet with resistance. The Senate must refuse to confirm anti-environmental activists to the nation’s highest court.
Justice O’Connor’s legacy:
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been a voice of moderation on the Supreme Court, and often cast the decisive vote in favor of protecting the environmental safeguards enjoyed by all Americans. For example, just last year, she cast the decisive vote in a 5-4 ruling protecting clean air in Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. EPA (2004). This landmark case upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to step in and take action to reduce air pollution under the Clean Air Act when a state conservation agency fails to act. She also broke with her more conservative colleagues in supporting clean water in Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw (2000); endangered species in Sweet Home v. Babbitt (1995); and safeguards for Lake Tahoe in Tahoe Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
Justice O’Connor was recommended by Democratic Senator Dennis DeConcini, nominated by President Ronald Reagan, and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. President Bush should select a consensus nominee who will garner the same bipartisan support.
The big picture:
Fair and independent federal courts have never been more important to environmental protections. With a White House bent on ignoring environmental laws and a Congress intent on gutting these laws, the courts are currently our last line of defense. Industry and radical right-wing ideological groups are launching sweeping challenges to the constitutionality of fundamental environmental safeguards. We need a Supreme Court justice who will stand up to these anti-environmental interests and make fair and responsible decisions affecting the health and well-being of Americans and the preservation of our precious natural resources.
Please take action to support a fair Supreme Court!
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