In re: US EPA, No. 10-14535

Mandamus Petition by EPA

In In re: US EPA, No. 10-14535, a petition by the EPA for a writ of mandamus to substitute the appearance of the Assistant Administrator for Water of the Agency for the appearance of the Administrator of the Agency, at a hearing about compliance by the Agency with orders entered by the district court that concerned pollution of the Everglades, the court granted the petition where the record established no special need for compelling the appearance of the Administrator, and the Assistant Administrator was an adequate substitute.

As the court wrote:  "The Environmental Protection Agency petitions this Court for a writ of
mandamus to substitute the appearance of the Assistant Administrator for Water of the Agency, Peter Silva, for the appearance of the Administrator of the Agency, Lisa Jackson, at a hearing about compliance by the Agency with orders entered by the district court that concern pollution of the Everglades. The district court denied the motion for substitution and ordered the appearance of the Administrator who is a high-ranking official of the executive branch. See 5 U.S.C. § 5313. The Agency argues that compelling a high executive official to appear in a judicial proceeding encroaches on the separation of powers and, absent exigent
circumstances, the judicial branch must respect the discretion of the executive branch to designate which high-ranking official should represent the Agency in a judicial proceeding."

Related Resources

• Read the Eleventh Circuit's Decision in In re: US EPA, No. 10-14535