Foxes Guarding the Henhouse: How to Protect Environmental Standing From a Conservative Supreme Court

Editors' Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation and Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife effectively restricted the liberalized standing that environmental plaintiffs previously enjoyed. Recent appointments of conservative Justices to the Court indicate that environmental standing will continue to narrow in the future. However, modern doctrines like informational standing may offer plaintiffs assistance in asserting environmental claims. In this Article, Amy Major investigates the Court's historical treatment of environmental standing, discusses the evolution of informational regulation and informational standing, analyzes the Court's reaction to informational and statutory standing, and reveals how lawyers can utilize informational injury to circumvent conservative standing principles and bring successful claims under the ESA.