Oral arguments were heard Monday in an Idaho case that prompted Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to ask if “most ordinary homeowners would say this kind of thing can’t happen in the United States?” Alito’s unusual query came as the court heard from advocates on both sides of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which pits the federal Leviathan against an Idaho couple trying to build a house on land they own.

Alito continued with a perfect summary of the absurdity of this case: