The case that's widely thought of as "Navy vs. whales" goes to the highest court in the land this morning, as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council.

I'm lined up outside the courthouse right now to get a seat and report on what happens. No decision will come today -- it could take several months before a ruling is issued -- but I'm interested to hear what the justices ask and how the lawyers make their case.

A quick note: Due to rules banning all electronics from the courtroom, I can't blog about the proceedings in real time. But I'll post as soon as possible after the arguments finish, so check back at this page on Switchboard to find out how it goes.

I'm not a lawyer or scientist, so I'm mainly at the court this morning to provide a layman's point of view. (For scientific and legal expertise about this case, check out previous posts by my colleagues, including senior attorney Joel Reynolds and policy analyst Michael Jasny.)

For those of you who are interested in the case but not up to speed, here's the quick lowdown:

Deadly noise

Intense blasts of sound from military sonar can travel for vast distances underwater, causing disorientation, injury and even death for whales and other marine mammals, which use sound to navigate, find food and mate. (Imagine you're on a hot date and someone's constantly blowing an airhorn in your ear.)

Because of that, NRDC and other conservation groups want to make sure that whales are protected during the Navy's training exercises in the Pacific Ocean. The groups aren't asking that the exercises be stopped -- only that the Navy employ proper environmental safeguards, as required by law.

Steps that NRDC wants the Navy to follow include:

• Putting rich marine mammal habitats off limits to training exercises.
• Avoiding migration routes, feeding areas and breeding grounds when whales are present.
• Turning off active sonar when marine mammals and endangered species are spotted nearby.

Two lower courts have ruled in NRDC's favor. In February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the naval exercises off Southern California could continue, as long as the Navy took proper precautions, as NRDC wanted.

Separation of powers

To circumvent the court rulings, the Navy got the White House to declare a national emergency, saying the exercises could go on -- despite the law and the potential harm to whales.

So the question before the Supreme Court isn't really about the danger to marine life anymore. It's now about the separation of powers spelled out in the U.S. Constitution and whether the White House can overturn an ongoing judicial case. So don't expect all of the talk to be about whales when the lawyers go to court this morning. The focus will more likely be on legal precedents and executive authority versus judicial review.

Still, what's ultimately at stake here is the protection of marine mammals, which is why so many people are concerned about the outcome. For more background on NRDC's fight to protect whales, check out our website and watch the video Lethal Sounds, narrated by Pierce Brosnan.

I'll be back with more later.

Updates:
Who speaks for whales?
Report from the Court: NRDC and the Navy face off