Manuel Lujan, Jr., Secretary of the Interior v. Defenders of Wildlife, et al.

Decided June 12, 1992. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-1424 · 504 U.S. 555 (1992) · Cited 24,791 times

Holding

The judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Japan Whaling Ass'n v. American Cetacean Society · 478 U.S. 221 (1986)
• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons · 461 U.S. 95 (1983)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation · 497 U.S. 871 (1990)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• O'Shea v. Littleton · 414 U.S. 488 (1974)
• Foley Bros., Inc. v. Filardo · 336 U.S. 281 (1949)
• Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. · 477 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council · 490 U.S. 332 (1989)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood · 441 U.S. 91 (1979)
• United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) · 412 U.S. 669 (1973)
• Newman-Green, Inc. v. Alfonzo-Larrain · 490 U.S. 826 (1989)
• Golden v. Zwickler · 394 U.S. 103 (1969)
• United States v. Richardson · 418 U.S. 166 (1974)
• American Power & Light Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 329 U.S. 90 (1946)
• Fairchild v. Hughes · 258 U.S. 126 (1922)
• Touby v. United States · 500 U.S. 160 (1991)
• Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, Administratrix of the Estate of Catrett · 477 U.S. 317 (1986)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Rizzo v. Goode · 423 U.S. 362 (1976)
• Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission · 432 U.S. 333 (1977)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency · 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez · 594 U.S. 413 (2021)
• Clapper v. Amnesty International USA · 568 U.S. 398 (2013)
• Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc. · 554 U.S. 269 (2008)
• United States v. Texas · 599 U.S. 670 (2023)
• Department of Education v. Brown · 600 U.S. 551 (2023)
• Hollingsworth v. Perry · 570 U.S. 693 (2013)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Federal Election Commission v. Akins · 524 U.S. 11 (1998)
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine · 602 U.S. 367 (2024)
• Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill · 587 U.S. 658 (2019)
• Lexmark Int'l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc. · 572 U.S. 118 (2014)
• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n · 576 U.S. 787 (2015)
• Murthy v. Missouri · 603 U.S. 43 (2024)
• Raines v. Byrd · 521 U.S. 811 (1997)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
• Gill v. Whitford · 585 U.S. 48 (2018)
• Carney v. Adams · 592 U.S. 53 (2020)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• California v. Texas · 593 U.S. 659 (2021)
• Gutierrez v. Saenz · 606 U.S. 305 (2025)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).