Post by Logan on Jun 15, 2016 18:51:36 GMT -6
Lands lawsuit unlikely until next year, a few expense details emerge
Attorney General Sean Reyes and a top deputy are helping to refine a potential state lawsuit demanding the federal government relinquish ownership of 30 million acres within Utah's borders, although the state is unlikely to file the suit until next year, according to a lawmaker leading the effort.
Lawmakers want to hold off on the suit, said Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, the chairman of the Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands, in order to give U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop's Public Lands Initiative — a bill designating land uses on 18 million acres in the state — a chance to pass in Congress and to see who the next president appoints to fill a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy.
"Logically, realistically we've got to have nine justices. It's not going to do any good to have it before the Supreme Court right now because it will be a split decision right now, most likely," Stratton said.
But that doesn't mean that a victory by Democrat Hillary Clinton and a liberal Supreme Court nominee would scuttle the suit, Stratton said. And drafting a lawsuit doesn't mean the state is trying to pick a fight, he said.
Read more: www.sltrib.com/news/4011548-155/lands-lawsuit-unlikely-until-next-year
Attorney General Sean Reyes and a top deputy are helping to refine a potential state lawsuit demanding the federal government relinquish ownership of 30 million acres within Utah's borders, although the state is unlikely to file the suit until next year, according to a lawmaker leading the effort.
Lawmakers want to hold off on the suit, said Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, the chairman of the Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands, in order to give U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop's Public Lands Initiative — a bill designating land uses on 18 million acres in the state — a chance to pass in Congress and to see who the next president appoints to fill a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy.
"Logically, realistically we've got to have nine justices. It's not going to do any good to have it before the Supreme Court right now because it will be a split decision right now, most likely," Stratton said.
But that doesn't mean that a victory by Democrat Hillary Clinton and a liberal Supreme Court nominee would scuttle the suit, Stratton said. And drafting a lawsuit doesn't mean the state is trying to pick a fight, he said.
Read more: www.sltrib.com/news/4011548-155/lands-lawsuit-unlikely-until-next-year