Posted on 08/31/2007 5:54:09 PM PDT by Graymatter
The attorneys who successfully challenged Hazleton's illegal immigration ordinance in federal court want the city to pay their legal fees and costs totaling close to $2.4 million.
A 28-page petition filed in federal court Friday blames the city for driving up the fees for the attorneys pursuing the case, who represented several of Hazleton's Hispanic residents, landlords and community groups.
Since passing the first ordinance of its kind in July 2006, the city passed at least three additional versions of the ordinance in an attempt to improve its chances of winning the lawsuit. The often unexpected changes made the case more labor intensive and expensive, the plaintiffs argue.
"Hazleton has used this Court as its laboratory," the fee petition reads. "Defendant's experimentation over the past year comes at a price."
U.S. District Judge James M. Munley declared the Illegal Immigration Relief Act unconstitutional in a 206-page opinion released July 26, ruling it violated due process rights and infringed on the federal government's sole authority to regulate immigration. In federal civil rights cases, prevailing plaintiffs can ask the judge to force the defendant to pay for their legal fees.
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, whose city operates on a tightly constrained $7.9 million budget, called the $2.4 million fee total "absurd," adding the city plans to challenge the amount plaintiffs requested.
"It illustrates the circus the ACLU brought to the case," said Barletta. "They had over 20 attorneys sitting in the courtroom, with plenty of them doing nothing but running up the bill. Their goal was to bankrupt the city of Hazleton."
(Excerpt) Read more at citizensvoice.com ...
They should have used illegals to do the work — cheap labar, ya know?
GW could stop this.
Regards
SOP for ACLU; winning through intimidation, the “American Way.”
This sounds like psychobabble to me. Whether in Texas or Pennsylvania the States and local governments are footing the bills for illegal immigrants. This case smacks of Marxism to me. The federal government fails to enforce laws on the books, then the federal government forces local municipalities to pay for its failure. Then the federal government funds or forces taxpayers to fund the seditious ACLU to enforce its Marxist policies. This is scary. Does it get more corrupt? It looks like the law abiding citizens are characterized as the law breakers. What happened to a citizens arrest? Or is it up to the federal government to enforce the law and only the federal government. Something is broken here.
ping
The "illegal immigration" matter isn't a judicial concern. It's a political issue.
So, political judges are going to decide on the basis of politics. Irrespective of the law...
So long as we elect Democrat Congresses and Democrat Presidents, we're going to get judges like this one.
grrrrrrrr *&^#%$* blood sucking parasites!!!!
Can the judge send federal marshals to occupy all city property if the city doesn’t pay up?
He doesn't want to. Protecting America from invasion by illegal aliens is something he has shown he doesn't care about.
You’re getting a lesson in how the ACLU makes its money.
It’s only a little bit of liberal ideology that they sue for. Mostly it’s about the money.
Liberal judges are the salesmen for the ACLU business model.
” hey Mayberry...nice little budget you got there...be a shame if anything happened to it...”
The judge was appointed in 1998. Enough said.
The city should request an itemized bill by lawyer.
Twenty lawyers? Can you say "abuse of the legal system?"
I think the City of Hazlton should consider, at least tentatively help from other cities and citizens across the country to mount an agressive appeal.
The ACLU needs to be slapped down sooner or later. I think this battle has possibilities.
Anyone else think it's a good idea?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1889706/posts
Congressman Billybob’s thread on the subject.
ME!!!!!
they are sons of bitches. lets go get ‘em.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
“they are sons of bitches. lets go get ‘em.”
B U M P
ping
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