Hopson v. Kreps

In 1946, several nations, including the United States (defendant), entered into the International Whaling Convention (the convention) to conserve whale populations throughout the world. Thus, the nations granted the International Whaling Commission (the commission) the power to establish regulations and set quotas for the taking of whales. Bowhead whales were protected by the commission from the outset, but the commission provided a native-subsistence exception for certain communities whose cultures historically relied on the hunting of bowhead whales. In 1977, the commission voted to eliminate the native-subsistence exception. The United States abstained from the vote due to the fact that native Eskimos in Alaska enjoyed the exemption. The vote passed. However, the United States eventually secured a smaller limited quota for Eskimos to hunt whales under. Hopson (plaintiff), on behalf of Alaskan Eskimos, filed suit against the United States government, alleging that the commission had regulated beyond its jurisdiction and that the federal government was thus not authorized to adopt said regulations. The government filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the convention was so intertwined with foreign policy that the case presented a nonjusticiable political question. The district court granted the motion to dismiss, and Hopson appealed.