Reason
06-27-2010, 09:59 PM
Every Once in a While, You Win One (http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/60413.html)
Posted by James Ostrowski (jameso@apollo3.com) on June 27, 2010 08:18 PM
I have kept you posted here on what I call the Pork Lawsuit filed in Albany, NY in 2008. We are seeking to breathe life into the Jeffersonian NY Constitution of 1846 (PDF (https://mises.org/journals/jls/1_4/1_4_5.pdf)) by asking the courts to end billions of dollars of cash grants to corporations for “economic development.” It’s a classic David and Goliath story. Fifty libertarian and conservative activists throughout the state chipped in a few bucks to allow me to sit in the law library for two months and decipher dusty old law books.
We are up against five large law firms including Andrew Cuomo’s office and Cravath, Swaine and Moore, the second largest law firm in the US. Early in the case, their lawyer told me they would bury me with paperwork. My reply was, in effect, make my day.
The trial judge threw us out of court and we appealed (PDF (http://politicalclassdismissed.com/wp-content/uploads/BordeleauAppeal.pdf)) to the Appellate Division in Albany. On Thursday, the five-judge court unanimously reversed in a highly favorable opinion (PDF). (http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2010/508604.pdf)
That night, after a well-attended press conference in Buffalo, we celebrated at a local pub. After all, it isn’t every day you hand the corporate state a defeat in their own backyard.
Posted by James Ostrowski (jameso@apollo3.com) on June 27, 2010 08:18 PM
I have kept you posted here on what I call the Pork Lawsuit filed in Albany, NY in 2008. We are seeking to breathe life into the Jeffersonian NY Constitution of 1846 (PDF (https://mises.org/journals/jls/1_4/1_4_5.pdf)) by asking the courts to end billions of dollars of cash grants to corporations for “economic development.” It’s a classic David and Goliath story. Fifty libertarian and conservative activists throughout the state chipped in a few bucks to allow me to sit in the law library for two months and decipher dusty old law books.
We are up against five large law firms including Andrew Cuomo’s office and Cravath, Swaine and Moore, the second largest law firm in the US. Early in the case, their lawyer told me they would bury me with paperwork. My reply was, in effect, make my day.
The trial judge threw us out of court and we appealed (PDF (http://politicalclassdismissed.com/wp-content/uploads/BordeleauAppeal.pdf)) to the Appellate Division in Albany. On Thursday, the five-judge court unanimously reversed in a highly favorable opinion (PDF). (http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2010/508604.pdf)
That night, after a well-attended press conference in Buffalo, we celebrated at a local pub. After all, it isn’t every day you hand the corporate state a defeat in their own backyard.