On Topic - Boating illegal in US Waters...

http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20060814154923ibinews.html

Another rogue judge appointed for life.

I'm sure it will be, but it's an odd ruling in that there already was an established Federal guide which this judge has just junked.

There is potential here for some problematic issues like access to beach front for example.

Now, at least for LA, it's precedent for low water mark.

Hoax?

I just received an email from a friend who is an attorney and is also a recreational fisherman.

Apparently, this decision affects hunting and fishing only - it does not affect normal recreational boating.

The case involves property rights and he went into the whole thing about riparian property rights and it got confusing for a non lawyer like myself.

Here are some excerpts from the RFA on the case.

"In this case, the local Sheriff is arresting fishermen while they fish the edges and banks of the Mississippi River even while the water is directly connected to the Mississippi River, and even when the water is ten or twenty or thirty feet deep. The Sheriff will arrest fishermen unless they stay in the River on areas that are always covered by water at normal low water. The Sheriff’s arrests are made at the request of local landowners who are intent on claiming the fishing waters of America’s navigable Rivers as their exclusive domain."

"If he fishermen on the Mississippi River can be pushed to the center of the main channel, then America’s fishermen on all the other navigable rivers are destined for the same threatening treatment. If the Sheriff wins this case, recreational fishing on public waters is a thing of the past."

"This case has been ongoing for ten (10) years and is the culmination of the public access fight by fishermen to access public waters to fish. The Plaintiffs have asserted that navigable waters are useable across the entire surface of the navigable waterway for boating and fishing. The riparian owners assert that public boating and fishing is limited to the main channel. "

Which is interesting because federal law only allows private property rights only to the mean high water mark. Basically, this judge is rewriting the law to make the new boundary the mean low water mark.

I wonder if the judge owns any river front property?

James, Robert Gillespie Born 1946 in Ruston, LA

Federal Judicial Service: Judge, U. S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana Nominated by William J. Clinton on January 27, 1998, to a seat vacated by John M. Shaw; Confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1998, and received commission on August 3, 1998.

Education: Louisiana Tech University, B.A., 1968

Louisiana State University Law School, J.D., 1971

Professional Career: Private practice, Ruston, Louisiana, 1971-1998 Business law instructor, Louisiana Tech University, 1992-1998 Judge, Ruston City Court, Louisiana, 1985-1998

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male