Clackistani lawsuit thrown out on procedural grounds
Is Clackamas County selling bonds for the Tri-Met light rail system illegally? It appears we may never know. The lawsuit challenging the legality of the highly irregular mechanism that the county has used to authorize the bonds was thrown out this afternoon, on procedural grounds. The bonds are scheduled to be sold on Thursday, with a closing on the 13th. Then the county will fork the $20 million over to Tri-Met, just days or even hours before a voter initiative prohibiting the payment seems highly likely to pass. The votes on that ballot measure will be counted the night of the 18th.
Another lawsuit was filed today, but now the rebels are throwing Hail Marys. They are right as a policy matter, and right as a legal matter, but apparently there's nowhere for them to go to get justice. Ain't that Portland. How the county politicians, bureaucrats, and lawyers can look themselves in the mirror these days is beyond us.
Comments (10)
I had little doubt about the outcome of this suit once in front of the court. No local presiding judge in his right mind would want to get into the middle of this. Best move...look for any procedural way out without ruling on the merit.
Why not make a federal case of it? Filing for TROs in local courts may be cheaper, but why not ask a district court judge for a preliminary injunction? All the elements are there: irreparable harm, money damages inadequate, liklihood of a win on the merits, balance of harms from a delay is in the public interest. You might need to hunt for an argument to support standing but it already sounds like the plaintiff is willing to hang his hat on due process claims so there you go.
There's been no transcript available yet but observers said the judge bought the county pitch that the writ was seeking to stop an action vs compelling an action to occur as a writ of mandamus should be. Apparently there was enough wiggle room to find a distinction that made it appear the other way.
Yet the request was for the county to follow the law and provide the 60 period for revenue bond challenge.
Other Community Service: Portland Planning Commission (1992-96) (Vice-president 1994-96); Outreach Ministry in Burnside Board of Directors (1997-99) (Advisory Board: 1999-present); Environmental Zone Rewrite Committee (1993-95); Portland Growth Management Committee (1992-97); ORS Chapter 279 (Public Contracting) Rewrite Committee 2002; Little League Coach (1987, 1988, 1999); St. Maryís Home for Boys Volunteer (1987-90); Foster parent (1990).
Lange, Pinot Gris 2015
Kiona, Lemberger 2014
Willamette Valley, Pinot Gris 2015
Aix, Rosé de Provence 2016
Marchigüe, Cabernet 2013
Inazío Irruzola, Getariako Txakolina Rosé 2015
Maso Canali, Pinot Grigio 2015
Campo Viejo, Rioja Reserva 2011
Kirkland, Côtes de Provence Rosé 2016
Cantele, Salice Salentino Reserva 2013
Whispering Angel, Côtes de Provence Rosé 2013
Avissi, Prosecco
Cleto Charli, Lambrusco di Sorbara Secco, Vecchia Modena
Pique Poul, Rosé 2016
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly Rosé 2016
Stoller, Pinot Noir Rosé 2016
Chehalem, Inox Chardonnay 2015
The Four Graces, Pinot Gris 2015
Gascón, Colosal Red 2013
Cardwell Hill, Pinot Gris 2015
L'Ecole No. 41, Merlot 2013
Della Terra, Anonymus
Willamette Valley, Dijon Clone Chardonnay 2013
Wraith, Cabernet, Eidolon Estate 2012
Januik, Red 2015
Tomassi, Valpolicella, Rafaél, 2014
Sharecropper's Pinot Noir 2013
Helix, Pomatia Red Blend 2013
La Espera, Cabernet 2011
Campo Viejo, Rioja Reserva 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2013
Locations, Spanish Red Wine
Locations, Argentinian Red Wine
La Antigua Clásico, Rioja 2011
Shatter, Grenache, Maury 2012
Argyle, Vintage Brut 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #16
Abacela, Fiesta Tempranillo 2014
Benton Hill, Pinot Gris 2015
Primarius, Pinot Gris 2015
Januik, Merlot 2013
Napa Cellars, Cabernet 2013
J. Bookwalter, Protagonist 2012
LAN, Rioja Edicion Limitada 2011
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2009
Denada Cellars, Cabernet, Maipo Valley 2014
Marchigüe, Cabernet, Colchagua Valley 2013
Oberon, Cabernet 2014
Hedges, Red Mountain 2012
Balboa, Rose of Grenache 2015
Ontañón, Rioja Reserva 2015
Three Horse Ranch, Pinot Gris 2014
Archery Summit, Vireton Pinot Gris 2014
Nelms Road, Merlot 2013
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris 2014
Conn Creek, Cabernet, Napa 2012
Conn Creek, Cabernet, Napa 2013
Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc 2015
G3, Cabernet 2013
Chateau Smith, Cabernet, Washington State 2014
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #16
Willamette Valley, Rose of Pinot Noir, Whole Clusters 2015
Albero, Bobal Rose 2015
Ca' del Baio Barbaresco Valgrande 2012
Goodfellow, Reserve Pinot Gris, Clover 2014
Lugana, San Benedetto 2014
Wente, Cabernet, Charles Wetmore 2011
La Espera, Cabernet 2011
King Estate, Pinot Gris 2015
Adelsheim, Pinot Gris 2015
Trader Joe's, Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley 2015
La Vite Lucente, Toscana Red 2013
St. Francis, Cabernet, Sonoma 2013
Kendall-Jackson, Pinot Noir, California 2013
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Napa Valley 2013
Erath, Pinot Noir, Estate Selection 2012
Abbot's Table, Columbia Valley 2014
Intrinsic, Cabernet 2014
Oyster Bay, Pinot Noir 2010
Occhipinti, SP68 Bianco 2014
Layer Cake, Shiraz 2013
Desert Wind, Ruah 2011
WillaKenzie, Pinot Gris 2014
Abacela, Fiesta Tempranillo 2013
Des Amis, Rose 2014
Dunham, Trautina 2012
RoxyAnn, Claret 2012
Del Ri, Claret 2012
Stoppa, Emilia, Red 2004
Primarius, Pinot Noir 2013
Domaines Bunan, Bandol Rose 2015
Albero, Bobal Rose 2015
Deer Creek, Pinot Gris 2015
Beaulieu, Rutherford Cabernet 2013
Archery Summit, Vireton Pinot Gris 2014
King Estate, Pinot Gris, Backbone 2014
Oberon, Napa Cabernet 2013
Apaltagua, Envero Carmenere Gran Reserva 2013
Chateau des Arnauds, Cuvee des Capucins 2012
Nine Hats, Red 2013
Benziger, Cabernet, Sonoma 2012
Roxy Ann, Claret 2012
Januik, Merlot 2012
Conundrum, White 2013
St. Francis, Sonoma Cabernet 2012
The Occasional Book
Kent Haruf - Our Souls at Night
Peter Carey - True History of the Kelly Gang
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games
Amy Stewart - Girl Waits With Gun
Philip Roth - The Plot Against America
Norm Macdonald - Based on a True Story
Christopher Buckley - Boomsday
Ryan Holiday - The Obstacle is the Way
Ruth Sepetys - Between Shades of Gray
Richard Adams - Watership Down
Claire Vaye Watkins - Gold Fame Citrus
Markus Zusak - I am the Messenger
Anthony Doerr - All the Light We Cannot See
James Joyce - Dubliners
Cheryl Strayed - Torch
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Saul Bellow - Mister Sammler's Planet
Phil Stanford - White House Call Girl
John Kaplan & Jon R. Waltz - The Trial of Jack Ruby
Kent Haruf - Eventide
David Halberstam - Summer of '49
Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead
Maria Dermoȗt - The Ten Thousand Things
William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
Christopher Buckley - Thank You for Smoking
William Shakespeare - Othello
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Cheryl Strayed - Tiny Beautiful Things
Sara Varon - Bake Sale
Stephen King - 11/22/63
Paul Goldstein - Errors and Omissions
Mark Twain - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
Beverly Cleary - A Girl from Yamhill, a Memoir
Kent Haruf - Plainsong
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 66
At this date last year: 144
Total run in 2016: 155
In 2015: 271
In 2014: 401
In 2013: 257
In 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (10)
I had little doubt about the outcome of this suit once in front of the court. No local presiding judge in his right mind would want to get into the middle of this. Best move...look for any procedural way out without ruling on the merit.
Posted by gibby | September 4, 2012 5:52 PM
And politicians wonder why citizens think it's "US against THEM" ?
Turns out, they are right.
Posted by ltjd | September 4, 2012 5:58 PM
Channelling Leona Helsmley:
Only the Little People follow the laws in Oregon.
Posted by Mister Tee | September 4, 2012 6:43 PM
Why not make a federal case of it? Filing for TROs in local courts may be cheaper, but why not ask a district court judge for a preliminary injunction? All the elements are there: irreparable harm, money damages inadequate, liklihood of a win on the merits, balance of harms from a delay is in the public interest. You might need to hunt for an argument to support standing but it already sounds like the plaintiff is willing to hang his hat on due process claims so there you go.
Posted by steve | September 4, 2012 6:53 PM
RICO baby.. RICO
Posted by tankfixer | September 4, 2012 7:58 PM
OMG- it really is hard for me to grasp this happening-what the F?
Posted by K.W. | September 4, 2012 8:47 PM
Subverting the outcome of an upcoming election should invite Federal attention.
What about the people's voting rights? Where's the ever loving SPLC when you really need them? Oh, wrong victim.
Posted by Downtown Denizen | September 4, 2012 8:50 PM
and right as a legal matter
I'm no lawyer and haven't found the ruling online. How was Van Dyke incorrect about Haggenmiller's basis and wrong to throw out her case?
Posted by Aaron | September 4, 2012 10:53 PM
There's been no transcript available yet but observers said the judge bought the county pitch that the writ was seeking to stop an action vs compelling an action to occur as a writ of mandamus should be. Apparently there was enough wiggle room to find a distinction that made it appear the other way.
Yet the request was for the county to follow the law and provide the 60 period for revenue bond challenge.
Posted by rail vote 3-401 | September 5, 2012 7:42 AM
Van Dyk's blurb on the state bar
Other Community Service:
Portland Planning Commission (1992-96) (Vice-president 1994-96); Outreach Ministry in Burnside Board of Directors (1997-99) (Advisory Board: 1999-present); Environmental Zone Rewrite Committee (1993-95); Portland Growth Management Committee (1992-97); ORS Chapter 279 (Public Contracting) Rewrite Committee 2002; Little League Coach (1987, 1988, 1999); St. Maryís Home for Boys Volunteer (1987-90); Foster parent (1990).
Posted by Andrew | September 5, 2012 9:13 AM