Judge Martin Feldman Refuses to put Deepwater Drilling Moratorium Ruling on hold During Appeal

AP via Nola.com ^ | 6/24/2010 | AP

[Qbert]

A federal judge who overturned a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed after Gulf oil spill refused Thursday to put his ruling on hold while the government The Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to delay his ruling until the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans can review it. Feldman rejected that request Thursday.

On Tuesday, he struck down the Interior Department's moratorium that halted approval of new permits for deepwater projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells. Feldman concluded the government simply assumed that because one deepwater rig went up in flames, others were dangerous too. The moratorium was imposed after the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil has been gushing from the blown-out well ever since. The Justice Department said in court papers that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has instructed all employees not to enforce the moratorium. Rig operators are getting letters that say suspension notices they received have no legal effect right now.

[jdsteel]

“Da courts in session, now here come da judge, here come da judge” Way to go, judge!!!

[ElkGroveDan]

I always liked Marty Feldman.

[thethirddegree]

Good for the judge. Shove it up Obama’s rear and twist it.

[fortheDeclaration]

This judge needs to be on the supreme court!

[Fred]

This shows how solid Feldman's opinion is.

I thought Obama was this great constitutional atty? His admin is ZERO for TWO.

[sten]

Feldman concluded the government simply assumed that because one deepwater rig went up in flames, others were dangerous too.

aw geez.

expect another rig to go up very soon

[Wisconsinlady]

THE JUDGE IS NO DUMMY. Honorable Martin Feldman Advisory Committee Judge Feldman graduated from Tulane Law School in 1957, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and Assistant Editor of the Tulane Law Review. Upon graduation in 1957, Judge Feldman became Judge John Minor Wisdom's first law clerk when Judge Wisdom was appointed United States Circuit Judge. Judge Feldman served as Judge Wisdom's law clerk in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from 1957 to 1959 and, thereafter, practiced law in New Orleans until October of 1983. His practice emphasized tax law and complex commercial litigation. He is a past chairman of the Law Reform Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and a founding member of the Section on Anti‑Trust Law. Judge Feldman is also a Life Member of the American Law Institute On October 12, 1983 he was appointed United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana by President Reagan, and presently serves as the Chairman of the Fifth Circuit's Committee on Pattern Civil Jury Instructions. Judge Feldman was a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Judicial Center (1991-1995), and was Chair of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges (1996-1997). He is a visiting lecturer at Cambridge University, and an Honorary Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple Inn of Court, London. Judge Feldman is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is Chair of the Board of Advisory Editors of the Tulane Law Review, and was the Fifth Circuit district judge representative on the Judicial Conference of the United States for the 2001-2004 term. From 1994 to 2000 he was a lecturer in Constitutional Law and war powers at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Administration. During the Fall of 2002, he was Princeton University's Distinguished Visiting Jurist in the James Madison Program of American Ideals and Institutions. He is a frequent James Madison lecturer at Princeton University and has been a guest lecturer at Amherst College in constitutional interpretation and the philosophy of the Rule of Law. http://www.aaas.org/spp/case/feldman.htm

[Kevin in California]

Now, why doesn’t someone prosecute Salazar for lying when he said certain oil drilling experts agreed to the moratorium when they DID NOT?

OI am so sick and tired of these dictators!

[Flightdeck]

Judge Feldman, you are summoned to the oval office for your punishment.

[Mr. Lucky]

The Judge’s Order did not treat kindly the Government’s reliance upon claims they knew to be false.

[fatima]

Great news.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

So his ruling is in effect and drilling can commence immediately, subject to change by furher appeal.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Sorry, I meant “further” appeal, not “furher” appeal.

Freudian slip.

Obama does behave much like Dur Fuhrer Hitler did. So the slip was apt.

[pingman]

oval “orifice”?

[murron]

My fear exactly.

[lionheart 247365]

Soros will have a hissy fit for sure .

[MrB]

I imagine this guy caught crap for that name all his life.

[sten]

strange enough... there has only ever been one other accident even remotely similar to this one in the US... the exxon valdez.

also, like the this event, the valdez derailed a vote on whether or not to drill in awnr (a vote was scheduled for 2 weeks after the bp explosion).

fairly convenient, politically, if you’re anti-oil

if you’re anyone else... it’s obvious politically motivated sabotage