Posted on 09/15/2006 8:09:05 AM PDT by AdAstraPerArdua
In a rather bizarre ruling that has marine industry officials worried, Judge Robert G. James of the United States District Court, Western Division of Louisiana, has said that it is criminal trespass for the American boating public to boat, fish, or hunt on the Mississippi River and other navigable waters in the US.
In the case of Normal Parm v. Sheriff Mark Shumate, James ruled that federal law grants exclusive and private control over the waters of the river, outside the main shipping channel, to riparian landowners. The shallows of the navigable waters are no longer open to the public. That, in effect, makes boating illegal across most of the country.
"Even though this action seems like a horrible pre-April fools joke, it is very serious," said Phil Keeter, MRAA president, in a statement. "Because essentially all the waters and waterways of our country are considered navigable in the US law, this ruling declares recreational boating, water skiing, fishing, waterfowl hunting, and fishing tournaments to be illegal and the public subject to jail sentences for recreating with their families."
Last month, James rejected the findings of the Magistrate judge who found earlier that the American public had the right under federal law and Louisiana law to navigate, boat, fish, and hunt on the waters of the Mississippi river up to the normal high water line of the river. Judge James Kirk relied on the long established federal principles of navigation that recognized the public navigational rights " entitles the public to the reasonable use of navigable waters for all legitimate purposes of travel or transportation, for boating, sailing for pleasure, as well as for carrying persons or property for hire, and in any kind of watercraft the use of which is consistent with others also enjoying the right possessed in common."
"MRAA is working with the Coast Guard, state boating law administrators, and NMMA to fight this onerous ruling," said Glen Mazzella, MRAA chairman, in the statement.
I didn't know 'White' was a race or an ethnicity! I thought it was a color!
Surely you can be of many different races and ethnicities and still be white?
Buy and boat and several guns.
You've got the wrong judge.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
LMAO...
Yes, that is true, but the powers that be haven't called them on the carpet for it. If this judge decides to do so, he can make things very difficult for agencies that don't abide by this ruling.
Yes, he's been bought and paid for from the first:
"... Judge James Robertson, who dismissed tax evasion charges against Webster Hubbell, is the same judge who recently threw out several charges against two Tyson Food officials indicted by independent counsel Don Smaltz. The pair were convicted on the remaining charges after a two-hour jury deliberation."
Another idiot judeg, what the heck was he thinking????
I could buy this and put the guns back on:
http://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boatsforsale/boat/11360/
Another tidbit about this Bush hater:
"A US federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest at President George W. Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to a Washington Post story. US District Judge James Robertson, a member of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts late last Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation, the report said."
That would depend on which lake you are talking about. Certainly the Great Lakes are navigable, as are other large lakes around the country.
Geeze, what a stupid ruling.
http://www.aopa.org
He's probably a diciple of the River Navigators program, set up by the dufus from Hope.
But is it James "T" Kirk.
Well, at least AIR is still free...............for a while, anyway........
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