United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc.
View Official PDFBelow are plain-language sections to help you understand what the Court decided in United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc. and why it matters. Quotes are taken from the syllabus (the Court’s short summary at the start of the opinion).
Summary
A short, plain-English overview of United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc..
The United States Supreme Court reviewed whether draft biological opinions prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service were protected from disclosure under the deliberative process privilege of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Court determined that these drafts were predecisional and deliberative, thus exempt from disclosure. The Ninth Circuit's decision was reversed and remanded.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc..
The Court held that the deliberative process privilege protects draft biological opinions from disclosure under FOIA if they are predecisional and deliberative.
Constitutional Concepts
These are the Constitution-related themes that appear in United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc.. Click a concept to see other cases that involve the same idea.
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Why Administrative Law is relevant to United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc.
The case involves the deliberative process privilege, which is a key aspect of administrative law concerning agency decision-making processes.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)The deliberative process privilege protects from disclosure under FOIA in-house draft biological opinions that are both predecisional and deliberative.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc. that support the summary and concepts above.
The deliberative process privilege protects from disclosure under FOIA in-house draft biological opinions that are both predecisional and deliberative.
The privilege distinguishes between predecisional, deliberative documents, which are exempt from disclosure, and documents reflecting a final agency decision.
The administrative context confirms that the draft opinions were subject to change and had no direct legal consequences.
