WASHINGTON – 7 MAR 2012 – According to documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act request by the Gloucester Daily Times, the chief judge of the court system for NOAA Fisheries appears to have pleaded unsuccessfully with special investigator Charles B. Swartwood III last November to retract his written finding of "at least the appearance" of a judicial conflict of interest in the case against a fisherman.
Congressmen Barney Frank, John Tierney, and Bill Keating have asked the Inspectors General of Commerce and Homeland Security to look into the Judge's meeting with Special Master.
The text of the letter follows:
Dear Inspector General Zinser and Acting Inspector General Edwards:
We are writing to express concern over a document that was recently obtained by a media source from the Commerce Department via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This document summarizes a meeting that occurred between the Coast Guard’s chief administrative law judge who oversaw the court system for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and Department of Commerce Special Investigator Charles B. Swartwood III. We have attached this document for your review, and ask that you thoroughly evaluate it, including determining how this meeting came to take place, who authorized it, and conducting any warranted follow-up actions.
As you aware, there has been a high degree of mistrust between the NOAA fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge system, and the New England fishing industry. The Department of Commerce announced last year it would no longer utilize the Coast Guard administrative law judges (ALJs), and will refer new law enforcement cases to ALJs from the Environmental Protection Agency. While new cases are being assigned to the EPA ALJs, the Coast Guard ALJs are still adjudicating cases that were assigned prior to the Department of Commerce’s agreement with the EPA. The Federal government’s ability to successfully manage fisheries requires the active involvement and cooperation of the industry. Any appearance of judicial conflict would damage an already fragile relationship between the government and fisherman.
Therefore, we request that you carefully review the attached document. Thank you for your attention on this critical matter, and we look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
BARNEY FRANK
JOHN TIERNEY
BILL KEATING