Posts Tagged ‘federal judge’
Federal judge demands source of Arizona execution drug
Take the rocks outta his pockets, boys – make it slow!
A federal judge Saturday night ordered that the state of Arizona “immediately and publicly disclose” where it obtained a drug it intends to use to execute condemned murderer Jeffrey Landrigan on Tuesday.
The drama has played out for weeks as defense attorneys have tried to discern where the state found sodium thiopental, a barbiturate that is in short supply. Executions nationwide have been postponed because of the shortage…
On Sept. 30, the Arizona Department of Corrections announced that it had obtained thiopental, though court hearings revealed it had not come from its only apparent source approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA representatives have repeatedly said they are not aware of any other approved source of the drug in the U.S. or abroad.
The state has nonetheless declined to say where it got the drug, with Assistant Arizona Attorney General Kent Cattani citing a state law concealing the identity of executioners.
The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to delay the execution because of the debate, and so attorneys at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, which represents Landrigan, took the case to federal court. They maintain the drug may have been illegally imported.
1st – did anyone expect the state of Arizona to comply with federal law? They are a nation unto themselves – just like Texas. Remember, the Constitution is only a convenience for rightwing nutballs when they use it as a defensive weapon.
2nd – it gets even more strange when you consider both the Feds and the great state of Arizona [and creepy old politicians like John McCain] would have you or me arrested on the spot for reimporting American-made prescription drugs back across the border from Mexico.
For state officials and federal officers having at each other – politeness rules. After all, they’re probably playing golf at the country club together, next week.
Oil Industry’s latest favorite Louisiana judge
The judge who overturned deepwater drilling bans allowing BP to resume oil extraction in the Gulf of Mexico, had shares in Transocean and other firms in the industry, it was revealed.
A Louisiana-based judge Martin Feldman ruled that Barack Obama’s six-month drilling moratorium in the Gulf was unjustified because it assumed that all deepwater drilling was as dangerous as BP’s…
Feldman’s most recent financial disclosure forms show that he was paid dividends from his shares in Transocean, the firm that owned the Deepwater oil rig that exploded in April killing 11 oil workers, prompting America’s worst environmental disaster.
The forms, which relate to the calendar year 2008, also show that he sold shares in Halliburton, which was also involved in the disaster.
Feldman’s other interests included Ocean Energy, Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, Pengrowth Energy Trust, Atlas Energy Resources, and Parker Drilling…
Feldman has yet to respond to the disclosures. He is one of many federal judges across the Gulf Coast region with money in oil and gas. Several have disqualified themselves from hearing spill-related claims, while others have sold their holdings so they can preside over many cases being filed.
Sounds like business as usual in Louisiana – and in the Oil industry. A pretense at objectivity may be affected in some American courtrooms; but, not especially for cases involving corporate wealth and power.
It’s the American Way.
