INJUNTION LIFTED!
(Written by kencraw)
I was so busy with interviews and press conferences and practices yesterday I didn’t get a chance to chech for a ruling. Looks like late yesterday Judge Miller issued her updated judgment. And the key phrase is the last line:
…the preliminary injunction entered on February 9, 2007, is hearby dissolved. The Amended Judgment is effective and enforcable immediately.
Some of you are thinking, “Woohoo! Trees come down today!”
But remember, the University has promised that with this ruling, they will not start on construction immediately (and that means not cutting down the trees) if Judge Miller ruled this way, even thought the court documents seem to indicate so.
The promise was they wouldn’t start construction until:
- Two days pass and no appeal has been filed.
- If an appeal is filed, the appellate judge refuses to grant an injunction.
So, that means construction could start as early as Friday if Volker and company don’t file their appeal, although nobody expects that.
What it really means is that we’re back to a waiting game again, this time for the appellate jugde. When they get the case, they’ve got a handful of options and just about as much time as they want to do one of the following:
| # | Option | Time Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Refuse the appeal | Trees can come down the next day |
| 2. | Take the appeal, but refuse an injunction | Trees can come down the next day |
| 3. | Take the appeal and have a hearing about a possible injunction | Trees have to wait until after hearing is held and judge rules in that regard (see #4 if they rule to put an injunction in place) |
| 4. | Take the appeal and issue an injunction | We get to wait until well after the season while the appeal hearings continue |
My understanding is that the length of time we should expect to be waiting is on the order of a week, or maybe two. As an example, when the previous appeal was made, it was made on July 25th and the judge made his ruling rejecting it as premature on August 7th. However, from what I can tell, there are either no deadlines or the deadlines are so long that they’re not usually relevant.
Hopefully the COA (appellate court) doesn’t get gun-shy now that the case is actually in their hands and the trees can come down sometime shortly after the Michigan State game (which everyone agrees will still have the Berkeley zoo still in full operation on gameday).
As an FYI along those lines: read this letter to Cal fans with updates on how to deal with the protests and congestion.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
How many tree sitters are left in the trees? Is it four and are they in four different trees? Cut those trees down and claim they were looking out for the sitters physical health for this weekend. Or go up and get the sitters out and not cut any trees. It looks like we have the judges blessing.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I look forward to hearing the sounds of chainsaws. The cries coming from the tree people will be music to me ears. Hopefully option 1 or 2!
August 27th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Oh, your headline teases me so!
I’m pretty sure the sitters are all in one tree. And the reason we don’t go and get them without cutting down the trees (which we’ve been able to do for months) is that even if we did so, we’d still have to guard the trees to keep new sitters out. It’s best to only go through the removal process once.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Put up a chain link fence with razor wire around the perimeter. A couple of campus police and about four German Shepherd guard dogs should do the trick. It’s time to play hardball!