Earlier today, the Supreme Court considered whether to grant review in City of Tombstone v. United States, No. 12-1069 (cert. petition filed Feb. 27, 2013).
The City of Tombstone's cert petition asks whether the city "is likely to succeed on the merits of the claim that the Forest Service violated the Tenth Amendment by ... [impeding] restoration of essential municipal infrastructure during a State of Emergency."
- Here's the amici brief we filed in support of the city.
- Here's the amicus brief by a coalition of Arizona/New Mexico counties.
While we await next week's order announcing whether the Court will hear the case, here's the Federalist Society's podcast of a recent debate on the issues in the case:
Tombstone, Arizona, calls itself "the town too tough to die," but it’s gone to court to challenge the federal government’s restriction on access to nearby national forest land that the city claims bars it from repairing necessary water supply lines. Without repairing these lines—damaged by recent storms—the city claims it faces the threat of destruction by fire during the state’s long, hot summers. In its lawsuit, which has received national attention, Tombstone claims that the Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from using its power over national forest land in ways that would threaten destruction of cities and infringe on ordinary state powers. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the city in December, but it refused to answer whether "the Tenth Amendment constrains the Forest Service’s authority to regulate Tombstone’s activities under the Property Clause." The Goldwater Institute’s Nick Dranias, who represents the City, and Professor Peter Appel of the University of Georgia School of Law discuss the case on this previously recorded conference call.Tune in, and stay tuned.
