High Court to Review Naval Sonar Dispute

Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club said that besides the potential harm to migratory species, the 2005 Real ID law giving Chertoff such sweeping authority is a violation of the separation of powers.

The group was joined by several members of Congress opposed to the administration's plans. "This waiver will only prolong the department from addressing the real issue, their lack of a comprehensive border security plan,'' said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The court turned down the petition without comment, and the two-mile stretch of the fence in question, within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona, has already been completed.

"The waiver authority that Congress gave to the department makes clear that one of the nation's highest priorities is securing the southern border," said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke. "As fence construction proceeds, the department will continue to be a good steward of the environment, and consult with appropriate state, local, and tribal officials.''

In the cases decided by the court yesterday, a technical decision on whether a party has the right to pursue a case in federal court brought the sharpest dissension. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for a five-member majority in Sprint Communications v. APCC Services Inc. that when a company assigns its claim for money owed to a collector, that "assignee'' may go to federal court, even if it will receive a fee rather than a share of the proceeds.

Breyer took 30 pages to say "history and precedent'' made the outcome "well nigh conclusive.''

But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., called the decision "achingly wrong." The baby-boomer chief justice quoted Bob Dylan -- "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose" -- in his 19-page dissent saying assignees had no standing in federal court because they would not share the recovery.

In other action, the court:

· Ruled 8 to 1 that a criminal defendant's first appearance before a magistrate or judge triggers his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Thomas was the lone dissenter.

· Decided 6 to 3 that a federal appeals court may not on its own increase a defendant's sentence, absent a request by the government.

Staff writer Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.