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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1995)
■ ( * * * * * I i Page 6 • The Battalion JlJATION Tuesday • April 18, Supreme Court reconsiders Endangered Species Act WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court, in a spirited ar gument over the Endangered Species Act, debated Monday whether the government for 20 years has wrongly interpreted the law to ban destruction of wildlife habitat on private property. Eight of the nine justices fired questions at lawyers for the timber industry and the Clinton administration. The case could lead to one of the court’s most important environ mental rulings since Congress passed the law in 1973. If the government loses the case, “it is going to make it very difficult to enforce the Endan gered Species Act at all on pri vate lands,” Assistant Interior Secretary George Frampton Jr. said after the arguments. The case centers on loggers in Oregon who want to cut trees in areas with the threat ened northern spotted owl. The discussion before the high court Monday ranged from goats and butterflies to koalas and even rare bugs splattered on car windshields. “Couldn’t we pick an uglier example ... than a koala bear?” Justice Antonin Scalia asked during a light moment. Scalia argued for a narrow interpretation of the prohibited “taking” of threatened or en dangered species. “To ‘take’ an animal refers to hunters. Historically, I’ve never heard it used in any other way,” Scalia said. “The whole spotted owl thing is based on that notion that people who harvest trees are taking owls ... . To say this is taking an ani mal seems to me just weird.” Breyer said he didn’t read the law to apply only when an animal is harmed intentionally, as the in dustry argued. He suggested it might apply as well when “the person knows it is going, as a con sequence, to kill a few rare birds.” Breyer said a farmer who set up a battery of guns to kill crows eating his cqrn and knew the guns also could kill rare birds should be held responsible the deaths of the rare birds, “I don’t see how Cong!i could pass the act and not; hibit the person who, forotj reasons, is shooting guns081 happens to wipe out; species,” Breyer said. Justice Anthony Kenci also suggested it was apprt; ate to consider “what are; logical, likely ... consequence: the habitat destruction. A ruling is expected ase as June. l D<5 cl« $5 cr inf 90 bei BL Pi; opi or At; ro' ii Di trr; G'i Si; O re S; Br N< 21 Ei Hi nc th 10 e> Pi E! A hi A (C m t T e' w P a H c< A d I q $ T B C fl h c 11 h q rj fi F 1 rj c r; II e d ! I i i 1 i College Life: A Few Things lb Know KNOW- wh icK of-f- camp as boo ks+oirt buy back your Ufed fHS" textbooks 'for' hno re than Z54 eqch. 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Your Ti’ue Voice.® Supreme Com upholds ruling in two lawsuit involving revei i discrimination WASHINGTON (AP)- j affirmative action under! scrutiny, the Supreme Coc Monday left intact twot victories won by white me: said they were victims®: verse discrimination. The court let stand an that an affirmative actioc for promoting black firefig: in Birmingham, Ala., uni® ly discriminated against And the justices letai man collect $4 2 6,000fn Pittsburgh company hi ate of denying him a protMte cause of his race, Neither action Wdssfti Instead, the court mail comment as it left intact!) al appeals court deciaio: each case. But Monday’s action:: amid growing debateii three branches of govern: over whether affirmatives still is needed to help min:: — and whether such aidii to non-minorities. Republican leaders in! gress are seeking eliminii of most affirmative acti President Clinton hasas for a review of the lOO'i federal programs that im affirmative action. And the high courtises; ed to announce a major dec: by July on a white-owned: pany’s challenge to a fed highway program thatol special help to minority-oi small businesses. In other matters Moni the court: —Agreed to use a la»: stemming from the 19834 ing of a Korean airlinerov® Soviet Union to clarify* damages can be awarded* Americans die on intemaiE flights. —Refused to shield a S« Service agent from beinfi for taking along a CBS cat crew when he searchedaBt lyn, N.Y., home three years The lawsuit says he violated residents’ right to privacy In the Birmingham case 1 officials and black resident' gued that the plan forprot- firefighters was a valid ep remedy past bias against blit The city had agreed in® to settle a discrimination 1 suit by starting an affirm 11 action plan aimed at inert ing black employmentin ; fire department to 28 pe rii — the share of blacks in 1 county labor force. The plan set a tempo ri goal of promoting blacks te' of all fire lieutenant open 11 each year until 28 percer' those jobs were held by bla fl A group of white firefigl' sued in 1982, saying thef motion goal discrimin* 1 against them. The fire department et the 50 percent annual p 1989 because it had mettd 1 percent overall goal, Bu 1 white firefighters’ lawsuit 1 tinued because they were 11 ing back pay. The 11th U.S. Circuit^ of Appeals ruled for the^ firefighters last year, sayinf promotion goal violated 1 Constitution’s guara# equal protection and a fed 1 civil rights law. The appeals court sa> ( found no valid basis fortb f percent promotion goal" blacks made up a muchsm 5 ; share of the firefighters el for promotion. In the Pittsburgh case court turned down Duqtrt; Light Co.’s argument that award won by Frederick t should be overturned beta there was no evidence of* 1 white bias.