Delaware's Coastal Zone Law and Interstate Commerce

A recent ruling under the Delaware Coastal Zone Act to refuse to grant permission to build a liquified natural gas delivery point on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River may hinge upon revisiting the Interstate Commerce Clause of the US Constitution.

Or it could reveal a desire by the federal government to grab control over the ability to make determinations on where liquified natural gas distribution points are located. Such a ruling could be a taking, by the federal government, of control over this controversial topic. And a slippage of state power to the federal government.

The Wilmington News Journal reports on the subject in their article, BP ruling may set stage for battle. This quote from the article is interesting:

"I'm not happy about the decision. I'm resentful of Delaware imposing its very narrow Coastal Zone Act and impacting what is very clearly a New Jersey issue," Burzichelli, a Democrat, said. "Based on a William Penn Border of 250 years ago, we're stymied from introducing new technology in the region to answer energy issues."

The border between the States is on the New Jersey shoreline rather than in the deepest part of the channel between New Jersey and Delaware, and the strict development requirements of the Delaware law does permit Delaware a great amount of power over what gets developed on New Jersey's coastline.

I can't say that I'm upset with the result as it stands now, though.

The Delaware Law Office Team Grows

The DeLawOffice team grows with the addition of Anne. Bill is the brains in the backfield, out of this shot. But we will catch him with a camera soon, I hope.

Delaware's Super Bowl: Environmentalists 1, British Petroleum 0

Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) have halted plans for British Petroleum to build a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

In the ruling, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes said the 2,000-foot pier would violate a 34-year-old state Coastal Zone Act ban on "offshore bulk product transfer" facilities along the Delaware River.

The decision does seem to fit in squarely with the provisions of the Coastal Zone Act that Delaware heralds as one of its finest pieces of environmental protection for the State. An appeal of the decision is expected, and a result against DNREC and the State may be the beginnings of Federal control over the placement of facilities for the delivery of liquified natural gas.

While doing some research on the subject, I came across this site from attorney Tim Reilly: LNG Danger To Our Communities. Some interesting statements and images there.

Heavyweight Contender Takes His Case to Delaware

While it may not be as exciting as Rocky's run up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, a different kind of boxing match is happenning in Delaware's District Court. Heavyweight contender Vaughn Bean is taking on his former promoter, Wilmington resident Butch Lewis and his company Butch Lewis Productions.

Bean is alleging that Lewis took advantage of him and robbed him of money and chances to fight in higher level bouts. Bean has twice fought for the heavyweight title, losing to both Michael Moorer and Evander Holyfield. Despite the large purses available in a championship bout, Bean ended up broke.

Lewis and BLP Vice President Michael Spinks (a former client of Lewis' and a former heavyweight champ) claim that Bean never trained hard enough for his fights and breached their contract when he fought (and lost to) Vitali Klitschko in 2002.

Chancery Court Inspires Small Town Growth

Delaware's Chancery Court needed a new courthouse in Sussex Courty. What they built is a showcase; a dream of what a court could be.

Seems that the building of the new judicial building has got some others thinking of how they might bring the town a bright future. See: Georgetown boasts a building boom

Judge Gebelein Continuing His Efforts to Support Humanity and Justice in Afghanistan

Several months ago when we wrote about our Judge Gebelein being activated and sent to the middle east as a Colonel with the Delaware Army National Guard, we knew that we would hear more of his work there. And the word has begun to trickle in. In Sunday's News Journal, you can read about how the Del. judge adopts Afghan orphanage. We are proud of Judge Gebelein, and hope that the support for his efforts there will continue to flow in.

FINALLY!!!!

After three years of law school, three months of studying for the bar exam, two and a half months of waiting for the bar results, and then two more months of waiting, I am finally a lawyer. Delaware Attorney #4576 to be exact. The ceremony was very nice and more interactive than I had expected. Larry got to stand in front of the Supreme Court Justices and say that it was his pleasure to move my admission to the bar of this great State of Delaware. And the Justices accepted my admission and welcomed me to the Bar. To which I responded with a "Thank you, your honor" that was a long time in the making. I'm nervous of course, but really looking forward to getting some experience under my belt.

Also, I know that I've really slacked off on the blog entries about my clerkship, but the truth is that after I got started writing I found that I didn't have too many interesting things to say on the subject. So, here are a few insights I picked up along the way:

- If you are going to appeal a case to the Delaware Supreme Court, make sure that you have a really good argument.

- If you wear a suit anywhere near the New Castle County Courthouse, be prepared to be stopped and asked, "Are you a lawyer?"

- It is really hard to find a civil trial in Court of Common Pleas. Here's a hint for anyone still working on their checklist: The Supreme Court has one on tape.

- If you are just going to a Sheriff sale just to watch, don't bring your checkbook. Or your ATM card.

- There's not much to learn by simply watching a jury selection happen. Most of the lawyer's whisper amongst themselves and the judge turns on a white noise machine when talking to potential jurors. Also, it seems like most people really don't want to serve on a jury. I didn't really understand this mentality for short trials. I wouldn't want to sit in the jury box for a week, let alone six months, but I would love to be called for jury duty for a few days.

- When going to a hearing in Chancery Court, leave your cell phone, laptop, pager, etc. in the car. It's easier than having to surrender your electronics to the bailiff.

- Federal District Court is really quiet and the courtrooms are huge.

- An uncontested divorce hearing only takes about five minutes. I think that this suprises a lot of pro se litigants. Quick story: One of the cases that I sat in on was a woman who had been seperated from her husband for seventeen years without getting a divorce. After the initial questions, the judge asked, "Do you know your husband's address?" The woman responded, "Nope." The judge asked, "Do you know your husband's social security number?" The woman again responded, "Nope." The judge then asked, "When was the last time that you spoke to your husband?" To which the woman responded, "About sixteen years ago." The judge then granted the divorce. The woman, visibly elated, looked at me as she exited the courtroom and excitedly whispered, "YES!!" I wonder if she had known that the hearing would be so easy, if she had just gotten it over with in 1987.