South Texas landowners slow border fence's progress in court

[sonias]

AAS 3/17/08
South Texas landowners slow border fence's progress in court
Judge giving landowners hearings despite government's request for immediate access to land.

McALLEN — South Texas landowners fighting border fence surveys have gained traction in court and could keep the federal government from meeting Congress' demand for 670 miles of Mexican border fencing by the end of the year.

One case has already held up dozens of others for more than a month. Its outcome could mean further delays for 38 cases scheduled for hearings this week.

The Justice Department has sued more than 50 property owners in Texas this year — a total of 75 along the whole U.S.-Mexico border — after the owners refused to allow workers onto their property for preliminary work such as surveys.

No Texas judge has ruled in favor of the landowners, but a recent ruling from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered the government to first try to negotiate the price of access with landowners.

Keep it stalled!
:bounce::bounce::bounce:

Sonia

[tbyg52]

1. Good. If they can skip fancy golf courses

and $1M per house developments (per Texas Observer), then *nobody* needs that damn wall in their back yard.

[sonias]

2. Landowners say U.S. never negotiated on border fence

AAS 3/18/08
Landowners say U.S. never negotiated on border fence
Testimony came at first hearing held in some of pending lawsuits filed by government.

McALLEN — Several South Texas property owners testified in federal court Monday that government officials seeking access to land to survey for a border fence project did not try to negotiate before suing.

Offers of $100 compensation for the temporary access to their land along the Rio Grande came after government lawyers started the condemnation process, property owners in Hidalgo and Starr counties said Monday.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who has held several hearings on cases in Cameron County, said he would rule as soon as possible on more than a dozen government lawsuits.

But the three-hour hearing Monday, during which witnesses were called to recount their conversations with government officials and lawyers parsed the definition of "negotiate," was exactly the sort of legal wrangling the government had hoped to avoid.

Ah the arrogance of the bush government officials - who can be surprised?

Sonia

[sonias]

3. U.S. drops border fence lawsuit - UT Brownsville

AAS statesman 3/20/08
U.S. drops border fence lawsuit

The U.S. government has dismissed its border fence condemnation lawsuit against the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. An agreement was reached Wednesday with school officials just hours before a hearing was to begin in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen signed the order restricting the government's access to the campus. The two sides agreed to work together to come up with alternatives to a proposed 15-foot fence that would have left 160 acres of the campus, including its golf course and historic Fort Brown, on the Mexican side of the fence.

Many South Texas landowners are trying to restrict access by surveyors to their property in an effort to stop fence construction, but the university is the first to succeed.

Sonia