Swapping public lands
J.R. Simplot v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- J.R. Simplot Company asks the Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that the Bureau of Land Management could not exchange certain federal lands under a 1976 law because a 1900 law limited how those lands could be transferred.
- What's at stake
- The request leaves unresolved whether the Bureau can exchange these lands under the 1976 law despite the transfer limits in the 1900 law.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Court’s docket says the petition was sent for a conference; that does not mean the Court agreed to hear it.
The dispute asks how a 1976 public-lands law fits with a 1900 law that limited ways these lands could be transferred.
Question presented
Whether the Bureau may exercise its authority under FLPMA to dispose of public lands by exchange notwithstanding an earlier federal statute that had expressly authorized the disposal of those lands only through specified methods.
What happens next
The petition was distributed for the justices' Dec. 4, 2026, conference, but that does not guarantee an order date. The Court must decide whether to hear the case; no oral argument or decision date is set.
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
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Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
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Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.