EARTHJUSTICE

No Justice For Those Who Cross It

 

June 2003

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EARTHJUSTICE: LIBERALS REPRESENTING LIBERALS

 

Earthjustice, Based In Oakland, Calif., Is The Legal Arm Of Environmental Movement.  “Earthjustice is the nonprofit law firm for the environment, representing—without charge—hundreds of public interest clients, large and small.”  (Earthjustice Website, www.earthjustice.org, Accessed 6/24/03)

 

Earthjustice Was Originally Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.  “From day one Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund used the law to even the odds against powerful special interests, putting the organization at the center of major environmental issues—from protecting the water we drink and air we breathe to safeguarding cherished places like Yellowstone National Park and the Tongass National Forest.  We have provided legal representation—at no cost—to more than 600 clients … . In 1997, we changed our name to Earthjustice, to better reflect our role as a legal advocate for not just the Sierra Club, but hundreds of others clients as well.”  (Earthjustice Website, www.earthjustice.org, Accessed 6/24/03)

 

Earthjustice Counts As Its Clients Hundreds Of Liberal Organizations, Including AFL-CIO, Environmental Defense, Greenpeace, Hawaii Green Party, Natural Resources Defense Council, U.S., Florida and New York Public Interest Research Groups, Public Citizen, And Sierra Club.  (Earthjustice Website, www.earthjustice.org, Accessed 6/24/03)

 

Earthjustice Sings The Praises Of Liberal Judges.  Earthjustice representative Todd True praised deceased U.S. District Judge William L. Dwyer, a “a liberal Democrat “ who “sought improved treatment for sex predators.” True called Dwyer “a lawyer’s lawyer and a judge’s judge - an intellectual powerhouse and a guy who shoots straight and plays it right down the middle.’” (Peggy Andersen, “U.S. District Judge William L. Dwyer Dies At Age 72,” The Associated Press, 2/13/02)

 

LIBERAL LAWYERS BRINGING FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS

 

Fish & Wildlife Service, Military Recent Victims Of Misguided Earthjustice Suit.  “A chagrinned U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday complied with a five-year-old court order and designated 55,040 acres on Oahu as critical habitat for 99 endangered plant species, the agency announced. ‘This critical habitat designation was completed in response to a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Sierra Club and the Hawaiian Botanical Society,’ the agency said.  ‘In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional protection to most listed species while preventing the service from using scare [sic] conservation resources for activities with greater conservation benefits,’ it said. … Earthjustice said its federal lawsuit brought a federal court ruling in 1998 that the Fish and Wildlife Service had violated its mandatory duty to protect the habitat for plants on the endangered species list. … It criticized Fish and Wildlife's decision to exclude Army training areas from the critical habitat designation.” (Bruce Dunford, “Final Oahu Critical Habitat Designation Half Of Original Proposal,” The Associated Press, 6/17/03)

 

In 2001, Earthjustice Complained About EPA Cost-Benefit Analysis Completion Before Implementation Of Last Minute Clinton Regulations.  The “liberal environmental group Earthjustice filed a lawsuit challenging, in its words, ‘the federal government’s chronic failure to protect Americans from the health hazards of toxic air pollution.’ At issue was the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be sure cost-benefit analyses had been concluded before implementing certain midnight regulations of the Clinton administration. It was one of seven lawsuits filed against the EPA during the week of July 15.”  (Jennifer G. Hickey, “Liberals Cudgel The GOP Agenda,” Insight On The News, 8/13/01)