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USD Alum Conducts Oral Arguments Before the U.S. Supreme Court

On January 9, 2012, University of San Diego (USD) School of Law Graduate Damien Schiff, ’04, argued the property rights case Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency before the U.S. Supreme Court. This was his first appearance before the highest court in the country.

In this high-profile case, Pacific Law Foundation (PLF) seeks to establish that property owners have a right to appeal to court when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effectively seizes control of their property declaring it "wetlands" under the Clean Water Act.

In a statement after the oral argument, Schiff said, "If the EPA essentially seizes control of your property by labeling it as 'wetlands,' do you have a right to appeal to a court of law? EPA says no.  The Ninth Circuit has said no. Today, on behalf of Idaho property owners Mike and Chantell Sackett, Pacific Legal Foundation urged the Supreme Court to say, Yes. EPA must not be considered a law unto itself."

Schiff is a senior staff attorney for the PLF. He has worked on a number of cases pertaining to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Click here to view the entire story from The Sacramento Bee.