Becerra

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 April in Paris, et al., No. 2:19-cv-02471-KJM-CKD Plaintiffs, v. 14 Rob Bonta, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 Louisia na Wildlife and Fisheries No. 2:19-cv-02488-KJM-CKD Commission, et al., ORDER Plaintiffs, 19 v. 20 Rob Bo nta, et al., Defendants. 23 The parties in these consolidated cases each move for summary judgment on a narrow legal question: does the federal Endangered Species Act preempt California criminal laws that punish imports and sales of alligator and crocodile products? When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, it intended to preempt state laws prohibiting what federal regulations authorize. California law prohibits what the U.S. Department of Fish & Wildlife has authorized under the Endangered Species Act, so the state’s laws are preempted, as explained further in this order. The court grants plaintiffs’ cross-motions for summary judgment in both cases, and denies the defendants’…