Levine v. Vilsack

587 F.3d 986 (2009)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Levine v. Vilsack

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
587 F.3d 986 (2009)

Facts

In 1958, the United States Congress passed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which mandated that the slaughtering of livestock must be carried out by humane methods. In 1978, the act was amended to repeal the enforcement provision allowing the government to enforce humane slaughtering of livestock. In 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture (the USDA) (defendant) issued a notice that addressed the act and stated that the slaughter of poultry was not encompassed by the slaughter of livestock. Thus, the USDA’s position was that there was not a specific federal humane handling and slaughter statute for poultry. Ellen Levine, on behalf of an animal rights organization, filed suit in federal court challenging the USDA’s position on whether poultry should be included in the term livestock, and thus given certain humane slaughtering protections. In response, the USDA filed a motion to dismiss based on lack of standing. The district court denied the motion, finding that the injuries alleged by Levine were redressable, and thus standing existed. The USDA appealed. On appeal, Levine argued that the redressability requirement was satisfied because if she prevailed, then the amount of poultry inhumanely slaughtered would be reduced.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wu, J.)

What to do next…

  1. 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 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. 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.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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 815,000 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
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 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

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership