Last summer, the California Supreme Court — in People v. Rinehart — held that California’s temporary ban on a particular method of gold mining pending adoption of suitable regulations is not preempted by federal law, including the Mining Law of 1872. The defendant petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari. The petition has the high court’s attention, as demonstrated by the court’s invitation today to the Acting Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the United States about the case.
SCOTUS might take this case. Besides raising a question of federal preemption, another enticing factor is that the California Supreme Court disagreed with an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
