Scott Dodd's Blog
Who speaks for whales?
October 8, 2008
Posted by Scott Dodd in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Oral arguments are scheduled to begin momentarily in NRDC's case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and everyone's eager to hear what happens.
A lot of groups have a rooting interest in this proceeding, in which the U.S. Navy is seeking to overturn previous court rulings that would protect whales from harmful military sonar. Not the least of which is the whales, but we won't be hearing from them today.
Instead, here's an introduction some of the major players taking part this morning in NRDC v. Winter:
Richard Kendall
Arguing on behalf of NRDC and other conservation groups, Kendall is a partner in the firm of Irell & Manella, which has devoted considerable pro bono time to the case. He's argued before the Supreme Court before and has represented a lot of big-name clients in the corporate world, including film studios such as Paramount and Universal, TV networks including MTV and CBS, and financial companies such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. As you can guess, his cases have covered a wide range of issues, from banking to entertainment to intellectual property law.
Gregory Garre
The newly sworn-in Solicitor General of the United States represents the U.S. Navy in this case. President Bush appointed Garre to the solicitor post in June, and he was confirmed by the Senate last week and took his oath of office on Monday. Garre has been with the Justice Department since 2005. Before that, he headed the Supreme Court and appellate practice division at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Hogan & Hartson. He has argued 23 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and was a law clerk under former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Joel Reynolds
A senior attorney at NRDC, Reynolds directs the organization's marine mammal protection and southern California ecosystem projects. He has argued cases on behalf of environmental and community organizations at all levels of the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He currently specializes in issues of coastal protection, land use, marine mammal protection, environmental justice and transportation. Reynolds is NRDC's point person on the whale case, but a number of other people, including Cara Horowitz, Michael Jasny and Zak Smith, also played important roles.
Donald Winter
So you may have been wondering, exactly who is the Winter in NRDC v. Winter? He's the Secretary of the Navy, which is why his name winds up on the case opposite NRDC. (Technically, the case is Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, since the Navy is the petitioner in this case and NRDC et al. are the respondents.) A physicist by training, Winter has been a top executive at companies including Northrop Grumman and TRW and worked at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Beaked Whales
OK, they won't be in the courtroom, but these whales -- and many other marine mammals -- have a pretty major stake in today's proceedings. Scientific studies, including peer-reviewed articles in prestigious scientific journals, have shown a clear association between Navy sonar the death and injury of several whales species, with beaked whales being among the most vulnerable. NRDC's Andrew Wetzler writes about this in more detail, and this recent report suggests one possible reason that sonar can be so harmful to whales: It makes them think they're about to be attacked, so they swim for their lives.
Whether they know it or not, for some whales, today's court proceeding may indeed be the fight of their lives. Check back later for updated reports after oral arguments.
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