Saving Seafood

Government files appeal hoping to grab more Carlos Rafael permits

November 1, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Just when it felt safe to close the Carlos Rafael case, the government appealed Judge William Young’s decision regarding forfeiture on Wednesday.

A motion for reconsideration was filed Oct. 25 by the government seeking Young to alter his decision to force Rafael to forfeit four vessels and the accompanying permits. Young dismissed the motion a day later.

Wednesday’s appeal will be sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, according to court documents. It pertains only to Young’s determination of forfeiture.

Young sentenced Rafael to 46 months in prison on Sept. 25 after the New Bedford fishing mogul pleaded guilty to falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion in March. A decision on forfeiture wasn’t made until Oct. 11. U.S. Marshals seized the Bull Dog, the Lady Patricia, the Olivia and Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II a week later.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Merrick Garland and Chevron deference make an ugly combination

March 21, 2016 — George Will points out a glaring problem with Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination, namely Garland’s excessive affection for the lamentable Chevron deference doctrine:

“Chevron deference” … actually is germane to Garland. He is the most important member (chief judge) of the nation’s second-most important court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the importance of which derives primarily from its caseload of regulatory challenges. There Garland has practiced what too many conservatives have preached — “deference” in the name of “judicial restraint” toward Congress, and toward the executive branch and its appendages in administering congressional enactments. Named for a 1984 case, Chevron deference unleashes the regulatory state by saying that agencies charged with administering statutes are entitled to deference when they interpret supposedly ambiguous statutory language.

See the full commentary at ProfessorBainbridge.com