Positive Signs from SCOTUS on Sonar

It would appear that the Supreme Court has a bit of a pro-Navy leaning in the "Sailors v. Whales" case.

In a closely watched environmental case, justices Wednesday morning repeatedly sounded sympathetic to Pentagon officials who want to run large-scale Navy exercises off the Southern California coast. While the resulting underwater sonar storm disturbs marine mammals, it also helps prepare sailors for combat.

"I thought the whole point of the armed forces was to hurt the environment," Associate Justice Stephen Breyer said, half-jokingly. "Of course they're going to do harm."

***

Chief Justice John Roberts raised the specter of an undetected "North Korean diesel submarine to get (closer) to Pearl Harbor" if sailors couldn't train with sonar, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito asked pointedly if a judge could be considered "an expert on anti-submarine warfare." Alito added that there is "something incredibly odd" about a trial judge making a decision "contrary" to the Navy's requirements.

Even Breyer, who at times has been skeptical about other claims of executive authority, suggested that "an admiral (who) comes along with an affidavit that seems plausible" might outrank a "district judge who just says" the training should stop.

***

Associate Justice David Souter pressed Garre vigorously, insisting that the Navy may have brought the emergency circumstances on itself, but Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy added that a presidential declaration of military necessity "certainly must be given great weight."

Full story here.