Can you believe this Plaintiffs want Hazleton to pay $2.4 M in fees?

Question

The attorneys who successfully challenged Hazleton's illegal immigration ordinance in federal court want the city to pay their legal fees and costs totaling close to $2.4 million.


A 28-page petition filed in federal court Friday blames the city for driving up the fees for the attorneys pursuing the case, who represented several of Hazleton's Hispanic residents, landlords and community groups.

Since passing the first ordinance of its kind in July 2006, the city passed at least three additional versions of the ordinance in an attempt to improve its chances of winning the lawsuit. The often unexpected changes made the case more labor intensive and expensive, the plaintiffs argue.

"Hazleton has used this Court as its laboratory," the fee petition reads. "Defendant's experimentation over the past year comes at a price."

U.S. District Judge James M. Munley declared the Illegal Immigration Relief Act unconstitutional in a 206-page opinion released July 26, ruling it violated due process rights and infringed on the federal government's sole authority to regulate immigration. In federal civil rights cases, prevailing plaintiffs can ask the judge to force the defendant to pay for their legal fees.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, whose city operates on a tightly constrained $7.9 million budget, called the $2.4 million fee total "absurd," adding the city plans to challenge the amount plaintiffs requested.

"It illustrates the circus the ACLU brought to the case," said Barletta. "They had over 20 attorneys sitting in the courtroom, with plenty of them doing nothing but running up the bill. Their goal was to bankrupt the city of Hazleton."

Lead co-counsel for the plaintiffs Witold "Vic" Walczak, of the ACLU, defended the fees as reasonable, saying they were reduced by $500,000 from what could have been requested.

"We didn't bill for all the lawyers in the courtroom," he said.

Munley has the discretion to award a higher or lower fee total if he wishes. The city has appealed Munley's ruling and won't have to pay any fees until the case is resolved.

http://citizensvoice.com/site/index...
In light of the fact that Hazletons problem is every Americans problem and was largely created by the point blank refusal of the Federal government to enforce standing laws. The Bush administration should this bill, out of their own pockets.
GW could stop this.

Does it get more corrupt? It looks like the law abiding citizens are characterized as the law breakers. What happened to a citizens arrest? Or is it up to the federal government to enforce the law and only the federal government. Something is broken here.

Answer 1

The same thing happened in the Town I used to live. The "Hispanic Resource Center" that has been supporting the illegal Hispanic day-laborers sued the town for taking care of the safety/noise complaints file by local residents. In spite of the real problems caused by the day-laborers who had been using a parking lot as their pick-up spot, the air-headed moron judge ruled against the town, siting what the local police did (patrolling the area) violated the illegals' "civil rights" according to the 14th amendment.

I was there when they had a hearing. Even one father who was Hispanic came out and spoke against these day-laborers.
In my personal opinion, these ACLU f u c k e r s are the lowest of low lives with law degrees and a skin disease called self-righteousness.

Answer 2

On c-span I was watching one of the lawyers from the ACLU bragging that he specially enjoyed running up the fees in Hazletons , so that other cities and towns would not pass laws similar to those in Hazleton, to risk the bankrupting of their cities. I guess the 2.4 million bill says it all. To bad we can not file suit against the Federal government for their failure to enforce our immigration laws

Answer 3

Does anybody doubt that there is a federal judge somewhere who will decide in the plaintiff's favor?
The "illegal immigration" matter isn't a judicial concern. It's a political issue.

So, political judges are going to decide on the basis of politics. Irrespective of the law...

So long as we elect Democrat Congresses and Democrat Presidents, we're going to get judges like this one.

Answer 4

If this judge loves America and has the balls to stand up to these slime he'll tell the ACLU to take their petition and wipe their a## with it.The ACLU has never supported America
GO Hazleton,America is with you!

Answer 5

i don't know how genuine it particularly is, i know that they have got positioned to kick back the entire undertaking with "exchange into he born right here" an all that....he's have been given the element up on a internet site. yet you recognize the media, they prefer to attempt and get milk from a ineffective cow, I merely heard a narrative in step with week in the past that somebody interior the government admitted to creating Obama an genuine beginning certificates so he would desire to conceal his tracks. in my view i think of it particularly is pushing it yet with politics being what they're i would not be stunned if later it grew to become out to be genuine. So for now i'm merely going to maintain on with the smart phrases of my Grandfather "it's going to all come out interior the wash" and enable Obama do his interest and settle for what i've got have been given. If there is not something there they won't locate it, and if there is have faith me with all the attention it particularly is on him it's going to come out quicker or later.

Answer 6

It's a travesty that the ACLU is fighting for the criminal illegals against the USA & citizens>

Answer 7

Hispanics feel obligated to stand up for there own kind for some reason. Even if there own kind make up a large chunk of illegal immigrants in this country.

Answer 8

gwb could take care of it but he is a nipple head so he won't. i still think that this could be won but it's going to take a long time to do so the best recourse we have is to vote everyone out of office who either voted or sponsored a bill in support of amnesty.

Answer 9

In my opinion, the only thing worse than a lawyer is a Mexican lawyer.