Sturgeon v. Frost

Sturgeon v. Frost I
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 20, 2016
Decided March 22, 2016
Full case nameSturgeon v. Frost, Alaska Regional Director of the National Park Service, et al.
Docket no.14-1209
Citations577 U.S. ___ (more)
136 S. Ct. 1061; 194 L. Ed. 2d 108
Opinion announcementOpinion announcement
Case history
PriorSummary judgment granted, Sturgeon v. Masica, No. 3:11-cv-0183, 2013 WL 5888230 (D. Alaska Oct. 30, 2013); affirmed, 768 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2014); cert. granted, 136 S. Ct. 27 (2015).
SubsequentOn remand, 872 F.3d 927 (9th Cir. 2017); cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 2648 (2018).
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Case opinion
MajorityRoberts, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 3103(c)
Sturgeon v. Frost II
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 5, 2018
Decided March 26, 2019
Full case nameSturgeon v. Frost, Alaska Regional Director of the National Park Service, et al.
Docket no.17-949
Citations587 U.S. ___ (more)
139 S. Ct. 1066; 203 L. Ed. 2d 453
Opinion announcementOpinion announcement
Case history
Prior872 F.3d 927 (9th Cir. 2017); cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 2648 (2018).
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinion
MajorityKagan, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 3103(c)

Sturgeon v. Frost refers to two cases heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, both of which deal with the regulatory authority of the National Park Service over lands in Alaska under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).[1] In the first case, Sturgeon v. Frost I, 577 U.S. ___ (2016), the Court ruled that the National Park Service may regulate only "public" lands in Alaska and remanded the case to the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court to decide whether the river in question, which is "submerged land," is "public" or "non-public" land.[2] In Sturgeon v. Frost II, 587 U.S. ___ (2019), the Court unanimously ruled that the ANILCA defines navigable waters in Alaska as "non-public" lands and that they are exempt from the National Park Service's national regulations.[3]

  1. ^ Codified at 16 U.S.C. § 3103(c).
  2. ^ Sturgeon v. Frost, No. 14-1209, 577 U.S. ___, slip op. at 12–15 (2016).
  3. ^ Sturgeon v. Frost, No. 17-949, 587 U.S. ___ (2019).