The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Oct. 29 accepted two cases for argument during the2021-2022 term:
- Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco, California, originating from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
- West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (consolidated with North American Coal Corporation v. Environmental Protection Agency, Westmoreland Mining Holdings v. Environmental Protection Agency, and North Dakota v. Environmental Protection Agency), originating from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The question presented to the court in Arizona is: “Whether States with interests should be permitted to intervene to defend a rule when the United States ceases to defend.” The petitioners presented two additional questions in the petition for writ of certiorari, but the court limited its review to the first question only.
In West Virginia, the court was asked to consider the following question: “In … an ancillary provision of the Clean Air Act, did Congress constitutionally authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to issue significant rules—including those capable of reshaping the nation’s electricity grids and unilaterally decarbonizing virtually any sector of the economy—without any limits on what the agency can require so long as it considers cost, nonair impacts, and energy requirements?”
To date, the court has agreed to hear 45 cases during the term. Three cases were dismissed, and one case was removed from the argument calendar. Twelve cases have not yet been scheduled for argument.
To date, the court has issued decisions in two cases, both of which were decided without argument.
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