Thomas introduces bill to stop 'venue shopping'

Associated Press

CHEYENNE - Wyoming is being steamrolled on federal land issues by judges thousands of miles away who ignore expert findings and are unfamiliar with Western issues, Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., said Tuesday.

To stem that trend, Thomas has drafted legislation meant to stop a practice known as "venue shopping," in which lawsuits are filed in jurisdictions viewed to be more friendly to a group's interests.

Similar bills have passed on the state level, but Thomas' measure is drawing criticism from environmentalists as being a solution without a problem and a threat to America's court system.

Thomas argued that issues related to Wyoming - such as snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park or Powder River Basin coal-bed methane drilling - should be settled in the Cowboy State, not Washington, D.C.

"I don't think someone from Washington, D.C., would want a judge in Wyoming to tell them what to do in the nation's capitol," he said. "Why should a judge in Washington be able to tell us what to do in our backyard?"

Under the bill, lawsuits against the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service would be heard in district courts affected by the litigation.

That means courts in Montana, for example, would have jurisdiction over lawsuits involving Glacier National Park, while Idaho would get the first crack at litigation on its wolf management plan.

"It is not just or proper for various individuals to take their issues directly to courts in Washington and usurp the circuit court system," Thomas said.

Thomas said he drafted the legislation "because I have grown tired of judges in Washington saying what can and can't happen in my state," referring to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's refusal to transfer a lawsuit over Yellowstone snowmobiles to Wyoming. Sullivan is based in Washington, D.C.

"My intent is nondiscriminatory and simply underscores my strong believe that Wyoming's federal judges should have the first crack at hearing cases that directly impact federal lands in Wyoming," he said.

Chris Mehl of The Wilderness Society, a plaintiff in the Yellowstone lawsuit, criticized the measure for only applying to some governmental agencies and cautioned Thomas against damaging the U.S. court system in trying to reform it.

"For over 200 years, our forefathers and grandparents wrestled with this issue … We have national courts spread across the country to hear national issues and I would not tamper with that system," he said.

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