Day: July 8, 2010

"Change oil in the Gulf every six months or 15,000 lies" – 5th Circuit panel rejects moratorium

Credit to Andy Borowitz for providing the post title, Fox 8 for the story and the 5th Circuit panel for the decision that brought Borowitz to mind:

A federal appeals court has rejected the U.S. government’s effort to keep a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium in place.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled soon after a Thursday afternoon hearing in a lawsuit filed by companies that oppose the drilling ban.

The Interior Department said the moratorium was necessary while it studied deepwater drilling risks in the wake of the BP oil spill…

The appeals court ruling found that the Interior Department failed to show the federal government would suffer “irreparable injury” if the ban isn’t restored while it appeals the lower court’s decision.

Law.com nailed it earlier today – 5th Circuit Judges in Drilling Moratorium Case Have Oil Ties, Report Says: Continue reading “"Change oil in the Gulf every six months or 15,000 lies" – 5th Circuit panel rejects moratorium”

Hitting close to home. Oil has entered the "Jackson Marsh". Please don't kill the marsh in order to save it. An open letter to Senator Roger Wicker.

Folks I have more on my plate than time to blog but I could not let the latest report of oil in the marshes of Hancock County pass without commenting.  What the Sun Herald calls Jackson Marsh (No doubt related to the nearby Jackson Ridge) is a special place I knew as a kid as Dodson’s pond which was named for a local doctor whose son I attended elementary school with long ago. 

Doctor Dodson remains a great man and humanitarian who always took care of the local boys back in the day.  I always had permission to duck hunt in that tidal marsh as a teenager including a few times with future mayor Tommy Longo and his siblings.  It breaks my heart to see such a wonderful place of biodiversity poisoned by a rogue company which cut corners on safety.  I also know that if oil is in “Jackson Marsh” then it is also in “Mayfields” and the marshes across from Bayou Caddy, places I well know from my time living in Hancock County. 

This brings us to the last Sun Herald update filed by Donna Melton at the Sun Herald and it is there we stop next (sorry Donna but I need the entire piece so I apologize in advance): 

The Jackson Marsh in Waveland doesn’t look good. 

Dime to quarter-sized tarballs and an oily sheen can readily be seen in the marsh and is flowing back into the Mississippi Sound as the tide goes out. Continue reading “Hitting close to home. Oil has entered the "Jackson Marsh". Please don't kill the marsh in order to save it. An open letter to Senator Roger Wicker.”

Did Dick do it? Slabbed examines the case of Turner v Pleasant, Dick Chopin and Tom Porteous.

With a hat tip to a Slabbed reader I was sent a link to a new twist on an old case, Turner v Pleasant that was presided over by impeached (but not yet convicted) LAED Judge Tom Porteous. I hope the Slabbed Nation joins me in welcoming lawyer Dick Chopin here as we begin with a story by Michelle Massey at the Louisiana Record.

A Louisiana couple is asking a federal court to overturn a previous judgment, claiming the presiding judge acted improperly because of his relationship with defense counsel and a witness.

Ada D. Turner and Ronnie Turner filed suit against Neal E. Pleasant, RPIA of Delaware, Neal E. Pleasant Living Trust, The Travelers Insurance Co. and Standard Fire Insurance Co. June 25 in federal court in New Orleans.

The case was previously tried before New Orleans federal Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. without a jury in April 2003. Continue reading “Did Dick do it? Slabbed examines the case of Turner v Pleasant, Dick Chopin and Tom Porteous.”

Jim Brown

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: WHO CARES?

About the last thing on anyone’s mind right now, particularly in my home state of Louisiana, is whether or not Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It’s pretty much a “done deal,” right? Whoever the President wants, the president gets, regardless of political party. Oh, in the Kagan case, the republicans will throw up some half-hearted concerns about Kagan being too liberal and not enough of a “strict constructionist,” whatever that is supposed to mean. So why should the average American care?

In recent polling data, two-thirds of the 1,000 American adults polled couldn’t name a single current justice, and just 1 percent was able to name all nine sitting justices. Less than one-third of voters have any view of Kagan at all. This lack of governmental knowledge really is not all that big of a surprise when you look at other historical events that have most Americans perplexed.

  • More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the Constitution. Continue reading “Jim Brown”

Becky Mowbray breaks down the 5th Circuit panel assigned to the drilling moratorium case. Slabbed provides some additional analysis.

As the country watched in horror as the Katrina Who Dat Judge Martin Feldman violated basic judicial ethics by presiding over a case where he had a clear conflict of interest Slabbed was already getting background from our legal team on the chances of Feldman’s tainted decision being reversed at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Needless to say I suspect the financial disclosure forms of the 3 Judge panel at the 5th circuit has received quite the workout lately in light of what we dug up on the Who Dat Judge but rest assured this panel is not conflicted except possible by proximity to the scene of the crime. Before I chip in some analysis let’s visit with Becky who does a good job on this story:

Three judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday on the federal government’s request to keep the deepwater drilling moratorium in place while it appeals a lower court decision overturning the ban. …………

Curiously, the government hasn’t requested that the appeal of Feldman’s June 22 moratorium decision be heard on an expedited basis. The government’s appeal brief is due Aug. 9; Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc., the marine services company that is the lead plaintiff in the case, will have a few weeks to reply, and the oral arguments have yet to be scheduled. Continue reading “Becky Mowbray breaks down the 5th Circuit panel assigned to the drilling moratorium case. Slabbed provides some additional analysis.”