Conner v. Burford’s Empirical Analysis
848 F.2d 1441 · 1988
Citation profile
83 federal appellate · 56 district · 4 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 225 later decisions — most recently December 2024 · most notably Wyoming Outdoor Council v. United States Forest Service (1999), National Parks & Conservation Ass'n v. Babbitt (2001)
83 federal appellate · 56 district · 4 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 16 U.S.C. § 1531 (§ 2 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973) · 16 U.S.C. § 1536 (§ 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973) · 30 U.S.C. § 181 (Coal Market Competition Act of 2000) · 42 U.S.C. § 4321 (§ 2 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) · 42 U.S.C. § 4332 (§ 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) · 43 U.S.C. § 1331 (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006) · 43 U.S.C. § 1337 · 43 U.S.C. § 1340
Relies on Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe · Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · Provident Tradesmens Bank & Trust Co. v. Patterson · Kleppe v. Sierra Club · Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. United States
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 225 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In light of the ESA requirement that the agencies use the best scientific and commercial data available ... the FWS cannot ignore available biological info or fail to develop projections of ... activities which may indicate potential conflicts between development and the preservation of protected species. We hold that the FWS violated the ESA by failing to use the best information available to prepare comprehensive biological opinions.”
14 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“If the agency finds, based on a less formal and less rigorous “Environmental Assessment,” that the proposed action will not significantly affect the environment, the agency can issue a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) in lieu of the EIS. We will uphold an agency decision that a particular project does not require an EIS unless that decision is unreasonable. The reviewing court must assure, however, that the agency took a “hard look” at the environmental consequences of its decision.”
5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.