- #71
- 22,077
- 6,686
Please show me the evidence that such a petition has been filed to Congress, or any department within the federal government.mheslep said:Why would you think petition has not already been made, for years?
I did find a Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit regarding the sentencing of Steven and Dwight Hammond after their conviction of arson on federal lands.
http://landrights.org/or/Hammond/Ha...for-Writ-of-Certiorari-Filed-June-17-2013.pdf
The petition claims the sentence to be excessive. Well, that probably depends on the intent behind the crime. In the case of the Hardie-Hammond fire in 2001, the fire was apparently set (according to testimony) to cover illegal poaching on federal land.
http://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/e...convicted-arson-resentenced-five-years-prison
The jury convicted both of the Hammonds of using fire to destroy federal property for a 2001 arson known as the Hardie-Hammond Fire, located in the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area. Witnesses at trial, including a relative of the Hammonds, testified the arson occurred shortly after Steven Hammond and his hunting party illegally slaughtered several deer on BLM property. Jurors were told that Steven Hammond handed out “Strike Anywhere” matches with instructions that they be lit and dropped on the ground because they were going to “light up the whole country on fire.” One witness testified that he barely escaped the eight to ten foot high flames caused by the arson. The fire consumed 139 acres of public land and destroyed all evidence of the game violations. After committing the arson, Steven Hammond called the BLM office in Burns, Oregon and claimed the fire was started on Hammond property to burn off invasive species and had inadvertently burned onto public lands. Dwight and Steven Hammond told one of their relatives to keep his mouth shut and that nobody needed to know about the fire.
Eastern Oregon father-son ranchers convicted of lighting fires on federal land (June 22, 2012)
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...f/2012/06/eastern_oregon_father-son_ranc.html
Given the problem of wildfires in the west, and the potential for loss of life and destruction of property, I imagine the state and federal governments would take significant punitive action against arsonists. In the case of the Hammonds, it seems due process was applied.The men were convicted of arson in the 2001 Hardie-Hammond Fire near Steens Mountain, where BLM leased grazing rights to them. Steven Hammond also was convicted of arson in the 2006 Krumbo Butte Fire on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Steens Mountain.
They were acquitted and the government dismissed allegations that they conspired and set two other wildfires in 2006.
It does appear that filing a petition is not so easy. I expect one has to hire a lawyer familiar with the process, and for most people, that's probably an expensive proposition.
I'm curious as to what Constitutional rights the Bundys or their supporters/sympathizers seem to be claiming are being infringed, or what actions by the government are illegal or violation of the Constitution.
Rep. Greg Walden does make some points about the government, particularly the BLM, not listening to the people, and apparently individual federal employees making arbitrary decisions with respect to actions concerning access to public lands.
FYI - Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/files/PL106-399.pdf
In theory, this is how the process should work.
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/recreation/steens-mtn.php
http://www.blm.gov/or/rac/steensac.php
Steens Mountain is a place I'd like to hike.
Last edited: