Sierra Club v. Morton, Secretary of the Interior, et al.

Decided April 19, 1972. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 70-34 · 405 U.S. 727 (1972) · Cited 3,248 times

Holding

A person has standing to seek judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act only if he can show that he himself has suffered or will suffer injury, whether economic or otherwise.

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 4–3.

“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.

• Barlow v. Collins · 397 U.S. 159 (1970)
• Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp · 397 U.S. 150 (1970)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station · 309 U.S. 470 (1940)
• Scripps-Howard Radio, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 316 U.S. 4 (1942)
• Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe · 401 U.S. 402 (1971)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Boyd's Lessee v. Graves · 17 U.S. 513 (1819)
• Muskrat v. United States · 219 U.S. 346 (1911)
• Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 306 U.S. 118 (1939)
• Alabama Power Co. v. Ickes · 302 U.S. 464 (1938)
• Hardin v. Kentucky Utilities Co. · 390 U.S. 1 (1968)
• City of Chicago v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 357 U.S. 77 (1958)
• United States v. Johnson · 319 U.S. 302 (1943)
• Udall v. Federal Power Commission · 387 U.S. 428 (1967)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) · 412 U.S. 669 (1973)
• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• United States v. Richardson · 418 U.S. 166 (1974)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency · 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
• Linda RS v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. · 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
• Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman · 455 U.S. 363 (1982)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis · 407 U.S. 163 (1972)
• Diamond v. Charles · 476 U.S. 54 (1986)
• Asarco Inc. v. Kadish · 490 U.S. 605 (1989)
• California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz · 416 U.S. 21 (1974)
• Gill v. Whitford · 585 U.S. 48 (2018)
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine · 602 U.S. 367 (2024)
• Hudson v. McMillian · 503 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation · 497 U.S. 871 (1990)
• Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission · 432 U.S. 333 (1977)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). 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).