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Judge taken off everglades case { September 24 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030924/NEWS/309240365/1134http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030924/NEWS/309240365/1134
Published Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Judge Taken Off Everglades Case
The sugar industry accused the jurist of bias in favor of environmentalists.
By JILL BARTON
The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH -- The federal judge who has presided over the Everglades restoration for more than a decade was removed from the case Tuesday following complaints from sugar growers that he favored environmental groups.
U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler had repeatedly made comments about the Everglades issue to reporters. He criticized lawmakers and the governor for approving legislation this year that environmental groups contended would jeopardize federal funds and delay the cleanup.
Hoeveler's removal by Chief U.S. District Judge William Zloch was a big victory for U.S. Sugar Corp. The company, which led the fight against him, contended Hoeveler had become too politically involved in the issue by lambasting state lawmakers and lecturing the governor.
In siding with the company, Zloch noted that Hoeveler's comments in five newspaper articles cast doubt on his "continued impartiality." The order said that judges should disqualify themselves if their impartiality "might be reasonably questioned."
Hoeveler, 81, said he didn't want to comment on the decision.
In a statement, U.S. Sugar Senior Vice President Robert Coker praised Hoeveler as "a great judge with a long and distinguished career." But he said the order showed that Hoeveler had become unfairly influenced against the company's interests.
Environmental groups denounced Hoeveler's removal. They praised his 15 years of policing the complex lawsuit that is intended to restore the Everglades to its bygone days as a free-flowing, slow-growth marsh.
"I think Judge Hoeveler will go down in history as an American hero. He wanted the Everglades to be there for our grandchildren," said Jonathan Ullman, Everglades representative for the Sierra Club. "The sugar industry should put its energy into following the law instead of judgeshopping."
In May, Hoeveler said a new Everglades law heralded by Gov. Jeb Bush was "clearly defective" and that Bush was misled by people who did not care about the Everglades.
Environmentalists say the new law puts off the cleanup of phosphorus pollution running into the Everglades from sugar farms and suburban sprawl by more than a decade. Phosphorus is a problem in the Everglades because it feeds the growth of cattails, choking out native plants and wildlife.
Hoeveler, who oversaw the original 1992 agreement between Florida and the federal government to clean up the Everglades, threatened to ignore the state law if it contradicts the plan.
In a May order, he wrote that the "bill was moved quickly through the legislative process, reportedly at the behest of more than forty lobbyists for the sugar industry."
David Guest, a managing attorney with Earth Justice, said sugar growers have disagreed with the district court's rulings for years and are trying to "escape the consequences of their pollution by getting rid of the judge."
Hoeveler, also well known for sending Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to prison, was appointed to the federal bench in 1977 and serves as a senior judge in Miami.
Awards in his name are issued by Florida criminal defense lawyers for lifetime achievement and by the University of Miami law school for ethics and leadership. He also received a medal from Pope John Paul II.
The case was reassigned Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno and U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert L. Dube.
"There will be a time lag certainly when the new judge catches up on this very complicated case," Guest said. "And that's unfortunate because the Everglades doesn't need a time lag."
Last modified: September 24. 2003 12:00AM
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