CA: Coastal Commission case appealed to U.S. high court

San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 9/21/05 | Terry Rodgers

[NormsRevenge]

A state Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of the California Coastal Commission in June has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sacramento attorney Ronald A. Zumbrun filed the appeal yesterday on behalf of the Marine Forests Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to creating and restoring marine habitats.

"Our contention is that the California Supreme Court, by acting in an abrupt and arbitrary manner, denied my client due process and the right to just compensation for its property interests," Zumbrun said.

Marine Forests Society challenged the commission's legality in 1999 after the agency forced it to remove an artificial reef installed off Newport Beach. The reef was made of rope, used tires, plastic jugs and concrete blocks.

Two lower state courts ruled that the commission violated California's separation-of-powers doctrine because two-thirds of the 12-member commission, an agency that's part of the executive branch, was vulnerable to political manipulation by the Legislature. Lawmakers who appointed the eight commissioners could remove them at will.

In an attempt to fix the legal problem cited, the Legislature's appointees to the commission were given fixed, four-year terms.

But Zumbrun said the appeal is still needed because the state's highest court also failed to address the legality of thousands of decisions made by the commission before the Legislature created fixed terms.

Joseph Barbieri of the state Attorney General's Office said he doubted the U.S. Supreme Court will accept the appeal. In his opinion, there is no federal constitutional issue at stake.

"The U.S. Supreme court has indicated that each state is free to establish its own separation-of-powers rule," he said. "We don't see that this case presents a federal question."

[goldstategop]

I agree. Its a state agency so unless he can show some violation of due process guaranteed by the federal Constitution, I doubt the U.S Supreme Court will take it up. But you never know.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)