United States Ninth Circuit

In a constitutional and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenge brought by a rock climbing advocacy group to the Forest Service's ban imposed on rock climbing at a particular location, a ruling upholding the Forest Service's decision is affirmed where: 1) the decision clearly had a secular purpose and had no impermissible religious motivation, and the Establishment Clause does not bar the government from protecting a historically and culturally important site simply because the site's importance derives at least in part from its sacredness to certain groups; and 2) the Forest Service's decision was not arbitrary or capricious for APA purposes.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/15/2007
• Decided 08/27/2007
• Published 08/27/2007

Judges

• Before:  J. CLIFFORD WALLACE, RICHARD D. CUDAHY, and M. MARGARET McKEOWN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Laurence K. Gustafson, Ashley B. Duffie, and Jeremy K. Kernodle, Haynes and Boone, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, and Marte D. Lightstone, Miller Stratvert, P.A., Albuquerque, NM, for the appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sharon Swingle, Michael Jay Singer, Appellate Staff, Civil Division;  Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General;  Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney;  Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the appellees.