Judge who ordered Alligator Alcatraz shut down overstepped, appeals court rules

[1srelluc]

MSN

A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a Miami judge’s order that briefly required the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin shutting down Alligator Alcatraz last summer and barred new detainees from being held at the site.

The split decision by the three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said District Judge Kathleen Williams’ Aug. 21 order - paused by the same appeals court just days after it was issued - was improper because the environmental groups and Miccosukee Tribe bringing the lawsuit “failed to prove” that the federal government controlled the site.

Part of their decision hinged on the fact that Florida has not been reimbursed a dime for the more $600 million in taxpayer funds the state has spent on constructing and maintaining the site, despite Gov. Ron DeSantis’ promises last summer that it would be funded by the federal government.

The appellate judges pointed to the Trump administration’s lack of financial investment as evidence that the project shouldn’t trigger federal environmental review laws.

“Until Homeland Security officials decide to fund the facility, no final agency action occurs,” the judges wrote.

Trump wins again! This one took longer than I figured.

 

[wamose]

Most of these judges are political, not interpreters of law. They need to replace most of them with AI. In the meantime, they should devise a rating system based on the law and constitution, where the poor performers can be removed. All our legal system does right now is fight for power and cover for themselves. No good.