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Courtesy of Conium
Oklahoma Attorney General W.A.D. Edmondson’s contingency lawsuit business took a severe market downturn of its own on Monday, as a federal judge denied W.A.D’s request to stop poultry farmers from using poultry litter as fertilizer in the Illinois River watershed in northeastern Oklahoma. (Click here to read ruling)
In his ruling U.S. District Judge Judge Gregory K. Frizzell concluded that the state had not yet met its burden or proving that bacteria in the waters of the Illinois River watershed are caused by the application of poultry litter rather than other sources, including cattle manure and human septic systems.
Frizell noted that the evidence presented to the court indicated that fecal bacteria in the Illinois River comes “from a number of sources…the record reflects levels of fecal bacteria at similar levels in rivers and streams throughout the state of Oklahoma, including waterways in whose watersheds the record does not evidence similar application of poultry waste.”
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has released a 2007 study which details 110 sampling stations on 44 streams across the state. Bacteria levels across Oklahoma were such that only 11 stations showed water to be safe for primary body contact.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality also released a report stating that only 5 bodies of water tested in Oklahoma were considered safe from a bacteria standpoint.
Judge Frizell ruled that the testimony of two of W.A.D’s primary expert witnesses – who were reportedly paid millions of dollars for their work – was not sufficiently reliable, and therefore could not be considered.
The testimony of Valerie Harwood and Dr. Roger Olsen was based on work that “has not been peer reviewed or published,” Frizell noted in his order.
Attorneys across the state are evaluating the significance of Judge Frizell’s order. W.A.D Edmondson stated, “It is important to note that this ruling has no impact on our environmental case.”
Others are debating whether the court’s ruling that the expert witness testimony did not meet the “Daubert Standard” or “Daubert Challenge” – a standard applied to establish the admissibility of expert testimony – will mean the experts will not be allowed to testify to a jury during any upcoming trial.
“If W.A.D.’s experts are not allowed to testify because their testimony is not deemed sufficiently reliable, is there really a case here?” an attorney not involved in the case commented.
W.A.D has announced he is considering running as a candidate for governor, and has expressed confidence that his lawsuit against poultry companies will be resolved by the time his campaign begins.
Jackie Cunningham, The Community Relations Director for the Poultry Community Council said the industry and farmers “were grateful for the opportunity to present the evidence to support our position, and we feel this ruling recognizes what we have been saying since this lawsuit began: the science simply does not support the attorney general’s claims against the hard-working farmers of northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.”
Related:
From the tip line:
Have you seen or heard about the “Shall We Gather at the River” movie? I haven’t seen it but there has been quite a buzz about it around Tulsa and in the Tulsa World. (see below)
Don McCorkell, who got beat in the Tulsa Mayor’s race has taken it upon him self to make this what he calls a documentary – slamming the poultry industry. I haven’t seen nor do I want to. The fact that he and Drew are working together and Drew is using the piece to tell the folks of Oklahoma that he is their Savior is enough for me.
Also, McCorkell was asked to interview some farmers in northeast Oklahoma about the rules, regulations and laws the farmers are under. Farmers I’ve talked to haven’t heard a word from him. That would tell me he didn’t want to include the truth about all the efforts the farmers make to preserve the environment.
Is Drew and McCorkell trying to influence a jury pool with the movie? They have shown it in Tahlequah, Tulsa and Miami Oklahoma – right in the heart of where jurors will be selected from. That would sure help their chances in court – and it would help the law firms who stand to make so much money if they can win this in court – and in return – that would be that much more money they could contribute to Drew’s political campaign funds.
Also, is McCorkell looking for a job with Drew when/if Drew makes it to the governor’s mansion? That would be my guess – or maybe even in the AG’s office.
Nothing like politics.
Tulsa World (9/14/08) Ex-politician makes his point with documentary
Tulsa World (9/11/08) Documentary plays chicken with the poultry industry
OKPNS (2/23/07) Edmondson Accepts Contributions from Tulsa World Chairman in ‘06; Also Receives Paper’s Endorsement
Oklahoman’s For Responsible Government: Round 1: Poultry
W.A.D. gets a bit carried away with the praise at this campaign photo op for his covert governor campaign:
“This is an important event not only for Chabad and the Jewish community. It is significant for the whole state of Oklahoma and even the entire nation.”- W.A.D. Edmondson
His buddy Brad Henry -the man he’s seeking to succeed- threw W.A.D. a bone and designated this week ““Jewish Awareness Week.”
Mike Turpen picture courtesy of the “Inside the Beltway” blog.
We love it when our readers give us suggestions for stories. A reader today did even better, they gave us a suggestion and wrote us copy to boot. We invite our readers to leave their own caption for this photo.
“Using the wads of cash his buddy WAD Edmondson gave him for doing virtually nothing in the phony tobacco lawsuit scam, Mike Turpen has bought his way into favor with the white wine sipping crowd in Oklahoma City.
The liberal brown nosing plaintiff’s lawyer, an enemy of the 1st Amendment, stopped his pursuit of frivolous lawsuits and tanking his formerly-respectable television show long enough to frighten readers of the city paper. Pucker up, buttercup!”
We apologize if we’re the only ones who were unaware of this development. The Journal Record’s blog called “Hot Topic” had its first post in February. Here’s an excerpt from a May 29th post titled, “Outing Drew Edmondson.”
We’ve been sitting around the newsroom contemplating important matters. We’ve decided it’s time to out Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
No, Sally, we don’t think he’s gay.
Edmondson has been on a multi-year crusade against the poultry industry. Today he announced that he’s joined with a bunch of other attorneys general to ask that approval of a beef company merger be given close scrutiny.
Look out pork producers. You could be next. We’re pretty sure Drew is a closet vegetarian. Read more…
With the allegations that have been made against W. A .D. and his abuses of power, we would have liked to have seen a more serious examination of Edmondson and his record. In their defense, they did link to this video of W. A. D. explaining his extortion suit against the poultry companies.
Hat tip: OklahomaHorizonTV
Despite the capitol press corps’s contrivance, more information is coming out about W.A.D Edmondson’s plaintiff lawyer activities.We’ve chronicled the press corps’ suppression of controversy regarding Edmondson’s office many many times: the charges by his Republican challenger James Dunn in the 2006 election that were ignored by the Oklahoma media; the attempt by Edmondson crony Mike Turpen to censure a KFOR story by reporter Ali Meyer in December 2006 that raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the poultry lawsuits.
The lazy and highly partisan press corps, which in essence serves as the propaganda arm for these frivolous lawsuits, thought these and other reports were not worthy of distribution in Oklahoma, but today’s story story in LegalNewsLine.com titled, “Call for AG reform growing,” demonstrates Oklahoma’s thought police have not been entirely successful in purging the record:
McGraw is not alone. The San Francisco Examiner reported that then-New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid “received more than a quarter of all her 2002 campaign donations from liabilities lawyers, some of whom received significant state contracts. Similar controversies have surrounded Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.”
Edmondson is a public official, and his actions are sometimes controversial. They deserve to be discussed, and the capitol press corps should act like journalists instead of serving as his ‘wingman.’ Thanks to LegalNewsLine.com, Oklahomans can make up their own mind, not that fed to them by the propagandists in the 4th floor press room.
Related:
McCurtain Daily Gazette Editorial: Oklahoma has its own media coverup scandal
“Recently, a judge found there was insufficient evidence to go to trial with allegations that the multi-county grand jury made against some unpaid members on the Kiamichi Technology Center Board of Education.
If there were any justice in the world, the judge in the case would make the state pay the legal expenses for the accused board members.
If there were truly any justice, all those legal expenses for the defendants would come out of the budget of the Oklahoma attorney general’s office, so that he could feel just a little of the pain he has caused the people who were falsely accused by a manipulated multi-county grand jury system.”
Perhaps this explains why Edmondson is publicly pushing for a settlement in the poultry lawsuits.
By CHRIS RIZO
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| W.A. Drew Edmondson (D) |
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson has said he is considering running to replace Gov. Brad Henry, who is barred by term limits from seeking another term.
In an interview with the Tulsa (Okla.) World, the four-term Democratic attorney general said he is “leaning more and more” towards a run in 2010.
Edmondson, 61, has about $300,000 in his 2010 re-election coffers. He could use that money to help bankroll a gubernatorial run instead.
Other potential candidates for the Democratic nomination include Lt. Governor Jari Askins and state Treasurer Scott Meacham. On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin is often mentioned as a possible contender for the GOP nomination. Read more…
From FreePaulJacob.com:
Oklahoma’s largest newspaper blasted the Oklahoma Education Association in a Sunday editorial that called out the union for the nasty, undemocratic tactics the union used against the 2005 TABOR initiative. That’s the petition drive the Oklahoma 3—Paul, Rick Carpenter, and Susan Johnson—worked on, which riled the state’s political establishment and now provides pretext for Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s vindictive prosecution.
Seems the OEA is launching their own initiative to dramatically increase state education funding, and the Oklahoman saw hordes of hypocrisy in the teachers’ union seeking to use the initiative process after having sought to deny use of the process to others. As the Oklahoman put it:
“We find it ironic that the union and its supporters are turning to the initiative petition process to get what they want.” Read more…
Related: Americans for Prosperity: “Improving Oklahoma Education Doesn’t Mean Throwing Good Money After Bad”
Okiepolitics: Oklahoma legislators have no cents, students poor scores
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is making noises about a settlement in the poultry lawsuits. Taking a menacing tone, Edmondson says the companies may go broke if they lose to him in federal court. The trial is scheduled to go before a jury in September of 2009.There was no mention of how much his buddy Mike Turpen will receive for doing nothing, but Turpen will need more cash as he is exhausting the proceeds from his share of doing nothing for the phony tobacco settlement to buy his way into polite Oklahoma City society. From LegalNewsline.com:
Tyson Foods has made yet another publicity miscalculation, but this time it has nothing to do with Oklahoma. As the Tyson v. Edmondson trial date draws near, here is yet another public blemish on Tyson’s reputation: Tyson has canceled Labor Day and added a Muslim holiday! Then, a week later Tyson says ‘OOPS!’, and recants the holiday replacement.
Tyson Foods is represented in Oklahoma by the Schnake-Turnbo-Frank PR firm. One observer of the Oklahoma case says STF’s botched handling of the publicity is a major roadblock in getting a favorable ruling by a jury. “Drew Edmondson’s publicity team has overwhelmed the Tyson PR firm, mostly because they’re a standard PR company in over their head when it comes to litigation support. Why in the world Tyson has let this go on I’ll never understand because the lawyers and their trial consultants know this botched aspect of the case is going to be very difficult to overcome,” she says.
Last week, Oklahoma Attorney General (W. A. D. Edmondson) asked the court for a continuance to postpone the preliminary hearing for Paul Jacob, Susan Johnson, and Rick Carpenter, originally scheduled for Wednesday, July 23 in Oklahoma City. A new date for the hearing has not yet been set.
“This will be a long fight. Now a little longer,” Paul said in reaction to the delay. “But we are prepared, with the help of family, friends, and supporters, to battle as long and hard as we must. The continuance requested by the attorney general’s office means only a slight delay, as this politically-motivated prosecution, unfortunately, will continue. We take comfort in knowing that we will ultimately get our day in court. And we will be vindicated.
Related:
FreePaulJacob.com: 9th Circuit Court strikes down residency requirements for petitioners
LegalNewsline.com: Oklahoma AG featured in anti-gay campaign flyer
