Court – It Matters How You Stand

Cliven Bundy attorney: Resurrecting case over Bunkerville standoff has ‘zero chance’ | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Federal prosecutors have been waiting 16 months for an appeals court to decide whether to resurrect the criminal case against Cliven Bundy and several co-defendants.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments sought by prosecutors in the high-profile case for March.

In a stunning decision on Jan, 8, 2018, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro tossed out the criminal charges in the middle of the trial because of what she called “flagrant” misconduct by prosecutors.

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Idaho 3 Percenters seek ‘friend of the court’ status in Oregon refuge occupiers’ appeal of federal convictions

Montana resident Roger L. Roots, a convicted felon who was allowed to serve as a volunteer paralegal for Ryan Bundy in the Oregon standoff case, filed the friend-of-the-court motion on behalf of the “Real 3% ers of Idaho,’’ and the “Idaho Political Prison Foundation.’’

The Idaho Political Prisoner Foundation provides money, obtained through donations, to inmates in jail or prison resulting from what it calls “non-violent Constitutional protest and activism,’’ according to the motion.

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WVU Professor’s Book ‘Up In Arms’ Takes a Look At Militia Uprisings | The Intelligencer

“People in the mainstream were like, “What the hell? These people are crazy,’ is the first reaction I get,” Temple said. “That’s just a very dismissive way to look at it. You’re never going to understand someone else’s viewpoints if you don’t ask the question, ‘Why are they doing this?’”

Temple, 49, who also wrote about the opioid crisis with “American Pain” that was released in 2015, offers another unflinching view of the state of the country with “Up In Arms.”

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INTERIOR: Whistleblower: BLM ignores illegal grazing after Bundy fiasco

A career Bureau of Land Management official who was fired last month says the Trump administration is refusing to enforce federal laws and regulations governing livestock grazing in Nevada out of fear of sparking another armed standoff like the one five years ago involving rancher Cliven Bundy.

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Environmental groups sue BLM to block renewal of grazing permit for Hammond Ranches

Western Watersheds Project, the Center for Biological Diversity and Wildearth Guardians filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Pendleton against the interior secretary, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the district manager of the land bureau’s Burns District office.The three groups argue that then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s renewal of the grazing permit after the Hammonds were issued pardons violated federal administrative regulations because it failed to consider the Hammonds’ unsatisfactory record.

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Lawyer says rancher Cliven Bundy will appeal lawsuit dismissal

Cliven Bundy speaks with media outside the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse after Scott Drexler’s court hearing in Las Vegas, Aug. 9, 2018. (Marcus Villagran/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @brokejournalist Cliven Bundy’s lawyer, similar to the appellate lawyers Michigan offers, said Wednesday that he plans to appeal a judge’s decision to throw out a lawsuit in which the Southern Nevada rancher sought to declare all public lands a part of the state. District Judge Jim Crockett’s decision this week followed previous court decisions against Bundy, who has claimed the federal government should not own land. Crockett wrote that “it is simply delusional to […]

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Supreme Court Moves to Overturn Conviction of Joe Robertson, Fined and Jailed for Digging Ponds on his Rural Montana Property

SCOTUS overturned decision upholding Robertson’s conviction and remanded the case so that the indictment could be dismissed and the lien cancelled(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that the Supreme Court of the United States has overturned a lower court decision affirming the conviction of Joseph Robertson, a 78-year-old veteran now deceased who was sentenced to prison for digging ditches on his rural Montana property to protect the area surrounding his home from wildfires. Judicial Watch had filed an amicus curiae brief jointly with the Allied Educational Foundation supporting Robertson and urging Supreme Court review and reversal of the lower court decision. Robertson served 18 months in prison and died while serving probation. He was also fined $130,000, a liability inherited by his estate.

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PUBLIC LANDS: Cliven Bundy to appeal lawsuit judge calls ‘delusional’

In an eight-page ruling (See Below), Nevada state Judge Jim Crockett rejected Bundy’s assertion that only individual states — rather than the U.S. government — can own public lands.”It is simply delusional to maintain that all public land within the boundaries of Nevada belongs to the State of Nevada,” Crockett wrote in the decision dated April 1 and published yesterday.

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Judge tosses Cliven Bundy’s claim that state owns all public lands | Las Vegas Review-Journal

District Judge Jim Crockett’s decision was handed down in response to court papers filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation group, which had intervened in the case. The judge’s decision followed previous court decisions against Bundy, who has claimed the federal government should not own land.“It is painfully obvious that the claims asserted by Bundy in the instant matter rest upon a fundamentally flawed notion advanced by Bundy since 1998 regarding ownership of federal public lands,” Crockett wrote in an eight-page decision.

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PUBLIC LANDS: DOJ seeks dismissal of Bundy ‘malicious prosecution’ suit

The Justice Department yesterday moved to dismiss the “malicious prosecution” lawsuit filed by Nevada rancher Ryan Bundy and refuted claims that federal officials violated Bundy’s constitutional rights during a 2014 armed standoff with Bureau of Land Management agents near Bunkerville, Nev.Bundy, who is represented by attorney Larry Klayman, filed a lawsuit last year against former Attorneys General Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder as well as former BLM Director Neil Kornze and former FBI Director James Comey.

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Reporters Committee secures FOIA win in case to uncover details on FBI impersonation of documentary filmmakers

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled the Federal Bureau of Investigation must search for and produce records related to the agency’s impersonation of documentary filmmakers during investigations in response to a request from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for more information about the practice.

After learning the FBI impersonated a documentary film crew to investigate Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his followers following a 2014 armed standoff between Bundy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Reporters Committee requested access to records related to this practice under the Freedom of Information Act. The FBI issued what’s known as a Glomar response, refusing to confirm or deny the existence of records responsive to the Reporters Committee’s request. The Reporters Committee challenged that response, arguing that it was improper, and the D.C. District Court agreed.

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Why a Republic and How do we Keep it?

It was not easy for them to agree on the best form of government for the newly liberated nation. They did much research, analysis, and debate to come to the final definition of our Constitutional Republic.

A large portion of the consideration was to the understanding of the failures of other efforts both currently and in history, and how those failures would be prevented.

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9th Circuit gets another Trump-picked judge after White House bypasses consultation with Dems – birdpuk

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Trump’s nominee to be a judge on the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a party-line vote — and, in a historic snub, the White House ignored the input of the judge’s two Democratic home-state senators in the process.The aggressive and unprecedented move to bypass the traditional “blue slip” consultation process and plow ahead with the confirmation comes as the Trump administration seeks to systematically erode left-wing dominance on the key appellate court, which Trump has called “disgraceful” and politically biased.

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Legal battle brewing between Pete Santilli and conservative lawyer Larry Klayman

Pete Santilli, the conservative Internet talk show host who pleaded guilty to conspiracy stemming from the 2014 Bunkerville standoff in Nevada after charges were dismissed against him in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, is in a legal battle with conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, who now represents Cliven Bundy.

In January, Santilli filed a bar complaint against Klayman, claiming Klayman collected donations for more than a year while Santilli and co-defendants were in custody in Nevada, promising to challenge their detention but never did.

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Editorial | Bundy prosecutors keep flogging a false scenario « 4TH ST8

In a section of the 88-page brief filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that argues that prosecutors were simply trying to balance disclose of data against “protecting witnesses and victims from real and on-going threats,” prosecutors note that “in June 2014, Jerad and Amanda Miller, two extremists who had been at Bundy’s property in April, murdered two Las Vegas police officers as they ate lunch, then draped a Gadsden flag over one of the officers and shouted this was the start of ‘a revolution,’ and later killed a civilian as well.”

What they continue to neglect to mention is that the Millers were a couple of leftist, anti-authoritarian lunatics who showed up at the Bundy ranch standoff with BLM agents trying to confiscate his cattle but were told by the Bundys to leave because of their “very radical” views.

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Bunkerville standoff figure wants to interview Trump adviser Stone | LVRJ

A conservative internet talk show host and figure in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff wants to interview President Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone while Stone is under federal indictment.

But Pete Santilli, whose YouTube channel has 33,000 subscribers, must first get permission from U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro to conduct the video interview, according to his Las Vegas lawyer, Chris Rasmussen.

“Santilli looks forward to his audience being able to hear Roger Stone’s side of the events that led up to his arrest, and friendship with President Trump,” Rasmussen said in an interview Thursday.

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Judge to remove restraining order on county ordinance opposed by ranchers | Local | idahostatejournal.com

POCATELLO — An Arimo ranching couple says they will soon lose access to feed some of their livestock, following a district judge’s decision Monday afternoon to allow the county to go forward with a road-use restriction.

Effective Feb. 11, Sixth District Judge Robert Naftz said he will dissolve the temporary restraining order he issued in late January on behalf of ranchers Sherrilyn and Dennis Munden, blocking enforcement of a road access restriction included in a new county ordinance.

The ordinance, approved in January, specifies that a 2-mile stretch of Garden Creek Road the Munden’s have used to haul feed to bulls, steers and horses is part of a designated snowmobiling route and is closed to other forms of traffic.

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Justice Department files 88-page appeal to reverse stinging defeat against Bundy clan in Nevada standoff – Washington Times

The Justice Department filed an appeal Wednesday of its devastating defeat against Cliven Bundy in the Nevada standoff, disputing the federal judge’s decision last year to throw out the case based on prosecutorial wrongdoing.

The 88-page motion, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenged Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro’s blistering finding of “flagrant” misconduct, which prompted her to declare a mistrial in December 2017 and dismiss the charges a month later.

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Cliven Bundy’s cattle still graze on federal land 5 years after standoff | Video

LAS VEGAS – A year after a judge dismissed charges against rancher Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and another man, an appeal is coming.

Federal prosecutors announcing this week they are challenging a decision by a U.S. District Court judge to declare a mistrial and dismiss the case against the four men related to the armed standoff near Bunkerville, Nevada back in 2014.

The vast valley surrounding the Virgin River sprawls for miles in every direction. Recent rains have left the range lush with vegetation.

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Activists making ‘water drops’ for migrants near border say government intimidation is rising – Washington Post

This month, four volunteers from a similar organization in Arizona, called No More Deaths, were convicted of misdemeanor charges of abandonment of property and entering a wildlife refuge without a permit after leaving food and water in a remote national wildlife refuge infamous for migrant fatalities. The Pima County medical examiner has documented 137 migrant deaths in this area since 2001, although No More Deaths advocates say they believe the number is much higher.

Each volunteer could receive up to six months in federal prison and a $500 fine for crimes that Judge Bernardo P. Velasco wrote eroded a “national decision to maintain the Refuge in its pristine nature.”

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Justice Department seeks to appeal stinging defeat against Cliven Bundy in Nevada standoff case – Washington Times

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they plan to appeal their demoralizing defeat in the Nevada standoff trial, which saw a federal judge rebuke prosecutors for “flagrant misconduct” and dismiss all charges against rancher Cliven Bundy and two of his sons.

Elizabeth O. White, assistant U.S. attorney for Nevada, assured the court that the appeal would be filed by Feb. 6 after asking for a 14-day extension, saying the “review process is complete and the Solicitor General has authorized the government’s appeal.”

“Undersigned counsel further advises that the draft brief is nearly complete, editing of the completed portions has begun, and she has begun the laborious process of preparing the excerpts of record and updating the record citations in brief to the excerpts of record,” Ms. White said in the motion.

The Justice Department already had requested and received two extensions, but it was unclear until Wednesday whether prosecutors would go forward with the appeal.

Bundy attorney Larry Klayman condemned the decision to file the appeal, which would go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He accused the government of “circling the wagons” to protect prosecutors, including former Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada Steven Myhre.

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A New Nevada? Movement initiated to split rural, urban communities | Pahrump

In a news release, committee chairman Robert Thomas III explained, “The court decision, Reynolds v. Sims, mandated that state senators be elected by population. This decision created what our Founding Fathers feared; a tyranny of the majority (‘mob rule’). Now, large population centers out-vote all the rest of rural Nevada with distressing regularity. That injustice can be corrected by the formation of a New Nevada State.”

The release goes on to state the group’s belief that the interests and values of rural Nevadans differ greatly from those who reside in large cities. It further asserts that advances for the urban areas often come at the expense of the remainder of the population.

To help generate interest in the New Nevada State Movement, the group hosted a “Declaration Day Rally” in front of the Nye County Courthouse on Jan. 21. There, a Declaration of Independence was read, outlining the intent to have rural counties secede from Nevada and form a brand new state, with its own government, which would be controlled by the vote of the rural people.

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Can Trump “Flip” the Circuit Courts? He’s Closer Than You Think | First Liberty

Right now, there are over 140 judicial vacancies that need to be filled, and needless to say, Senate Republicans have their work cut out for them.

And because judges have such profound influence in the way you and millions of Americans live out your faith, we’d like to let you in on a little secret about judicial nominations.

Here’s some “inside baseball” you’re not going to get anywhere else.

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Solicitor general still undecided on new trial for Bundy

OJ Appellate Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth White revealed Francisco’s apparent indecision on Wednesday in a request to delay opening briefs in the case, which centers on a 2014 armed standoff between the Bundys and their supporters and the Bureau of Land Management.

“Despite the government’s diligent efforts, the Solicitor General’s review of the matter is not yet complete,” White wrote, pointing to the “massive” record in the case. “His Office, and the Solicitor General himself, are carefully reviewing the issues, the record, and the draft government brief.”

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