Tag Archives: U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante

Appeal filed asking the court to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante’s July 29 at-sea monitor decision

dave goethelA fisherman is appealing a federal judge’s decision to allow the government to continue forcing fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors. Hampton fisherman, David Goethel, filed the appeal Sept. 6 and was joined by the Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts to North Carolina. They are asking the court to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante’s July 29 decision that said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association was within its constitutional rights to force Northeast ground fishermen to pay for the monitors. Goethel and the fishery sector filed their original lawsuit last December, claiming it was unconstitutional for NOAA to require the industry to fund the monitors, which join fishermen on a percentage of fishing trips each year and cost approximately $700 per each of those days. Read the rest here 13:25

Judge requests additional briefs and memoranda concerning at-sea monitoring lawsuit

dave goethelThe final judgment in New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel’s federal lawsuit against NOAA Fisheries concerning at-sea monitoring will be further delayed after the judge in the case requested additional briefs and memoranda from both sides. “In consideration of the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment and conducting the attending legal research, the court has identified points, authorities and (to some extent) arguments that were unfortunately not cited or raised by the parties’ legal memoranda,” U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante wrote in his procedural order. Prior to ordering the supplemental filings, Laplante, who sits in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, held a June 9 conference call with attorneys to discuss “whether, and the extent to which, any delay caused by additional briefing would increase, extend or intensify any claimed economic hardship” from the federal mandate shifting the costs of at-sea monitoring to the industry. Read the rest here 21:05