Posted on 04/14/2005 9:06:02 AM PDT by neverdem
Judge approves unusual court demonstration
LOVINGSTON - The legal dispute between Orion Estate and Nelson County took an unusual turn Wednesday when a judge allowed Orion to hold a shooting demonstration as part of the trial next week.
Orion’s lawyers at a pre-trial hearing said they want a supervised demonstration on the 465-acre Wingina property that would include shooting clays and similar activities.
“We believe that the court’s decision would be enhanced if it had the opportunity to view the land” and the activities proposed for it, attorney John Simpson said.
The event would take place during the afternoon on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Orion’s lawsuit claims that the Board of Supervisors violated the constitutional right to hunt when it rejected the planned shotgun sports facility in February 2004.
A viewing is not too out-of-the-ordinary for a trial, but a demonstration is unusual, lawyers acknowledged.
“I’m not sure in my own mind that it is necessary to do that,” Circuit Judge J. Michael Gamble said of the request, but he allowed the demonstration if time is sufficient. The date will be determined next week.
The National Rifle Association has been following the case, which Orion and its lawyers claim could carve new legal ground for the constitutional rights of Virginia hunters. They plan to appeal it to the Virginia Supreme Court if need be, and a favorable verdict would result in an interpretation of the state constitution used as law, they said. John W. Zunka, a lawyer for the Board of Supervisors, disagrees that the case could affect hunters across Virginia.
An NRA representative was on hand after the hearing to give comments to the swarm of reporters now following the case.
Anthony F. Troy, a former Virginia attorney general, sat at Orion’s desk and argued successfully against a Nelson County motion to subpoena the names of people registered for the 600-bird pheasant hunt.
“There’s no rational reason why the membership lists need to be revealed,” he said.
Gamble also overruled motions from Zunka and his co-counsel to exclude Orion’s expert witnesses and to dismiss the case on the grounds that the proposed Shotgun Sports Center activities do not qualify as hunting because they don’t involve shooting live animals.
“The word ‘hunt’ in the Virginia Constitution is unambiguous. Hunting involves the pursuit of animals and game,” Zunka said.
Stephen Halbrook, an Orion lawyer who also does work for the NRA, equated that approach to defining the sport of basketball as a formal game between two teams, leaving out pre-game practices. Orion has maintained that shooting clays and similar activities are an essential part of keeping hunting safe and humane.
Zunka has contended that Orion’s main goal is the commercial use of its 465-acre property, which it bought for $2.1 million in 2003. The case is a land-use issue, he said. The Board of Supervisors decided that a shotgun sports center would be too noisy and would conflict with the county zoning ordinance.
Shotgun sports are the bread and butter of Orion’s business. The company formerly operated a facility at Oak Ridge Estate for two years.
Orion recently postponed the 600-bird pheasant hunt, hard-won after a March 24 injunction hearing, because of threatening phone calls and comments made in public about a “war on Orion,” according to Morris Peterson, the managing director.
Contact Braxton Williams at (434) 978-7267 or bwilliams@dailyprogress.com.
This story can be found at: http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP%2FMGArticle%2FCDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782142409&path=!news
BTTT
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