Home > Great American Court Cases > Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association

Legal Citation: 485 U.S. 439 (1988)

Petitioner
Richard E. Lyng, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Respondent
Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association, et al.

Petitioner's Claim
Construction of a road and harvesting of timber through areas held sacred by Native American was in violation of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and also in violation of various federal statutes.

Chief Defense for Petitioner
Andrew J. Pincus

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Marilyn B. Miles

Justices for the Court
Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall (Anthony M. Kennedy did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.