This website requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings, or use a different web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Options

From our private database of 35,400+ case briefs...

Bennett v. Spear

United States Supreme Court

520 U.S. 154 (1997)

Facts

Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) notified the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (defendant) that a large land-reclamation program administered by the Bureau in northern California and southern Oregon might adversely affect two endangered species of fish. As required by the ESA, the FWS provided a report (Biological Opinion) that (1) concluded the project might threaten the two endangered species and (2) recommended feasible options for avoiding the threatened harm. The FWS also issued an Incidental Take Statement (ITS) that allowed the Bureau to cause some harm to the endangered species, as long as the Bureau complied with the Biological Opinion’s recommendations. The Bureau agreed to comply with these recommendations. Two Oregon irrigation districts, along with Brad Bennett and other ranchers within those districts (plaintiffs), filed suit against the FWS and various government officials (defendants), alleging that the Biological Opinion was issued in violation of the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq. The district court dismissed the complaint, and the court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Scalia, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 617,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 617,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 35,400 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 617,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
35,400 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support