Martin Feldman, Judge Who Overturned Oil Drilling Moratorium, Won't Withdraw From Case

NEW ORLEANS (Associated Press) -- A federal judge who overturned the Obama administration's initial six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling has refused to disqualify himself from the case.

Several environmental groups had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to withdraw from the case because of his investments in several oil and gas companies. Feldman refused in an order issued Friday and posted Monday.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court rejected the government's bid to restore its temporary ban on issuing new permits for deepwater drilling and suspension of 33 existing drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Justice Department later issued a new moratorium that it hopes will pass muster with the courts.

Comments

[WendyWyatt]

01:40 PM on 07/30/2010

I HAVE JUST CREATED A PETITION TO THE JUDICIAL COMMISSION TO PROTEST!!
I find this offensive to the intelligence of the American People! Martin Feldman seems to think he is above the law, which is infuriating! PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO GET MARTIN FELDMAN's wallet out of the judicial system! thank you so much!

http://environment.change.org/petitions/view/injustice_in_the_justice_department_-martin_feldman

[ReedYoung]

02:54 PM on 07/22/2010

Way better coverage of this crook on bradblog.com

[2question]

01:38 PM on 07/22/2010

Wait. I guess it's up to the JD? This guy is a USDC judge.

[2question]

01:33 PM on 07/22/2010

They used to just disbar and remove from the bench those judges who refused to recuse themselves for conflict of interest. I guess that's up the the great state of LA, eh?

[WendyWyatt]

02:33 PM on 07/30/2010

From doing research on the subject to try to figure out how this could possibly be legal I found out that the Louisiana CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT requires "a written complaint" to be filed. So that's why I started this petition. http://environment.change.org/petitions/view/injustice_in_the_justice_department_-martin_feldman
I started another one at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/injustice-in-the-justice-department
but what I like about the change.org one is that I was able to design it so that the JUDICIAL COMMISSION directly gets the petition, and gets notified about how many people have signed. :)
So, I hope it is okay that I signed both of my petitions. There can be two petitions for the same thing? Oh, why would I be concerned about that? I guess rules laws policies ethics, none of that is important today.

[AbeMartin]

08:22 AM on 07/22/2010

Why should Judge Feldman recuse himself? Indiana Senator Evan Bayh does not recuse himself from voting on any legislation that might impact the business of the many corporations in Big Pharma and Big Insurance on which his wife, Susan, serves as a Director. Nor do most of the membership of Congress or the Senate. This is the way governmental officers line their own and their friends' and relatives' pockets. Of course, if any of the "little people" do anything "unethical" or "illegal" it is virtually guaranteed that they will spend a day or two in lock-up to "protect" the community.

[VeryGrood]

09:09 AM on 07/22/2010

There is a HUGE difference between a politician being married to a board member and a judge owning stock in the company he is ruling in favor of. They're both "gray" areas. Evan Bayh's is roughly 100 shades lighter though. (I agree though... there is a conflict of interest in both cases).

[WendyWyatt]

02:20 PM on 07/30/2010

RIGHT! exactly!! That is why my mind is blown away that this is being tolerated!

[LightShadow62]

11:36 PM on 07/21/2010

Of course he won't withdraw, he's been paid good money to stay in place and keep the oil flowing.

[Telemachus]

11:44 AM on 07/21/2010

You can't blame him for wanting to protect his own finances. Buying that judgeship didn't come cheap, after all.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

01:56 PM on 07/21/2010

He needs to be impeached, where I come from conflict of interests is no laughing matter, neither is obvious corruption. If the man were honest, he would recuse himself due to his own financial arrangements.

[tullydad]

08:11 PM on 07/21/2010

conflicts of interest are no laughing matter...and I agree; they're not.

[WendyWyatt]

02:22 PM on 07/30/2010

As angry as I am, you actually got me to laugh! your right, of course! hahaha

[Figerre]

11:44 AM on 07/21/2010

and this is surprising how? conservatives have spent years buying off and paying off judges to get them where they want them to protect big businesses rather than small business and Main street. Oh, that's right - we all go merrily on our way ignoring the important stuff because we are too BUSY -- busy maybe, fruitful, not so much. So we let lizards like this get on our courts while listening to the 4th verse of 'We're against activist judges...' not hearing the silent but sure chorus -- 'except when they are our own' Fa la la

[Ozark Homesteader]

12:37 AM on 07/21/2010

He needs to go. Refusing to recuse himself is immoral. I hope the Bar goes after him.

[climbing panda]

08:42 PM on 07/20/2010

your opinions do not match ours. therefore, you must step down and let someone who agrees with us be an impartial judge.

[Telemachus]

11:41 AM on 07/21/2010

Can't you read? He makes money if he rules one way, loses money if he rules the other way. Your use of the word "impartial" is laughable.

[climbing panda]

02:25 PM on 07/21/2010

so for every single case that this and any other judges rules on the complete and total history of that judge needs to be vetted because it could have some bearing on the judge's impartiality? i own mutual funds as part of my 401k and IRA. i have no idea what's in those mutual funds because each mutual fund is made up of hundreds of different holdings and i just don't have the time to look through each line item and figure out what i own. i haven't seen anything indicating that this judge is a day trader and he likely has a financial manager purchasing and selling stocks for him. did he know he owned stock in oil companies until the media told him he did?

[NeoConsAreFinished]

06:28 PM on 07/20/2010

I loved him in "Young Frankenstein".

[Telemachus]

11:42 AM on 07/21/2010

Thanks to the dividends on his oil investments, he was finally able to get that hump fixed.

[mswyers]

04:53 PM on 07/20/2010

The house should impeach him for this obvious ethics violation. There is an established process for recusal and he chose to ignore it.

[marble14]

04:42 PM on 07/20/2010

Stand Tall, Mr. Feldman!

Fight this Regime!

[taddles]

12:06 AM on 07/21/2010

Good to hear that someone supports those who would use their positions of authority to make judgments based on personal gain. Enough of that fairness garbage and that whole "judging cases based on their merits and the law" stuff.

[cnart]

07:20 AM on 07/21/2010

You are a sickening human being.

[Telemachus]

11:43 AM on 07/21/2010

You give it too much credit.

[booki]

03:11 PM on 07/20/2010

i dont understand........ this:
is a conflict of interest.
he should be ordered to ....recuse himself.

[Michael Valentine]

02:47 PM on 07/20/2010

Judicial ethics huh?

[nomadrdw]

03:26 PM on 07/20/2010

you really don't expect any real ethics from the right do you?

[Michael Valentine]

05:24 PM on 07/20/2010

... and not much more from any of them.

We have become a nation of the zealously greedy.