Robert Cushman Murphy v. Lloyd Butler, Area Supervisor, Etc.

Background

A group of residents in a heavily populated Long Island suburb sued federal and state officials in 1957 to stop aerial spraying of a DDT-and-kerosene mix meant to kill gypsy moths. The spraying was part of a large Department of Agriculture campaign covering millions of acres in several States. The District Court denied a preliminary injunction, the sprayings went ahead, and petitioners later complained of contaminated milk, ruined vegetables, dead fish and birds, and other harms.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court was asked to review the lower-court rulings. The Court declined to hear the case and denied review, leaving the lower-court disposition in place. Justice Douglas recorded a dissent from that denial, saying the issues were of great public importance. He emphasized that the District Court made only limited findings — notably that spraying at the stated rate was not injurious to human health — while the record included evidence of contamination and damage and no firm promise the government would not spray again.

Real world impact

Because the Court refused review, the petitioners do not receive a national ruling on the health and property claims raised in their lawsuit. Residents, dairy sellers, gardeners, and wildlife advocates remain without a Supreme Court decision resolving the contested safety and procedural questions about large-scale DDT spraying. The denial delays any nationwide legal clarification and keeps the dispute tied to the lower-court record and possible future actions.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Douglas’s dissent explains the public-health and wildlife concerns and urges the Court to take the case, though he does not state a view on the merits or on mootness.