02/20/2007: "Appealing"

I know we all like to make fun of lawyers and politicians. When it comes to politicians their name says it all. "Poli" in Latin means "many", and "ticks" are little "bloodsucking creatures". Ticks and lawyers are different because at least ticks fall off when you die. But let's be fair. 98.7 percent of these people give all the rest a bad name.

Now a power struggle is brewing between lawyers and politicians right here in our little County. The question is, who should hear land use appeals, the Council of politicians or the lawyers in Superior Court?

Because I can't seem to take anything seriously, the two premises below seem kind of humorous to me. The debate goes something like this:

Lawyers are the only people smart enough to understand the land use appeal process. Not all politicians are lawyers therefore the many little bloodsucking politicians are too stupid to hear appeals to laws they passed in the first place.

If politicians make the laws then they should be smart enough to understand how those laws should apply to individual situations without interference from bigheaded buttinski lawyers. Therefore politicians should hear appeals before they go to court where people can get away with murder (OJ is free out on the golf course; hello?).

The Freeholders argued ad nauseum about the proper role of the Council in the Quasi-Judicial function. It was decided that the Council's power to review legal decisions of the Hearing Examiner should be limited.

The Charter dealt the Council out of the process but left the door open for them to reinsert themselves back into the game. In hindsight I think this was a mistake. Perhaps it is naive, but I am surprised that the Council is so eagerly determined to take back this power.

The Charter left open the possibility that the Council in consultation with the Prosecuting Attorney, could adopt, by ordinance, written procedures for the discretionary review of the decisions of the Hearing Examiner. And so the Council, struggling to hold on to power, directed staff to come up with a new ordinance.

The proposed ordinance now under consideration by the Planning Commission gives the players in land use disputes much more incentive to seek the Council's review. For example the Council may allow new evidence to be presented not previously seen by the Hearing Examiner, it gives "standing" to almost anyone to appeal decisions, and allows those parties to weigh-in with additional statements to support new positions, and it guarantees that politics will enter into every decision.

I don't think any of the Freeholders expected this kind of monkey business. It just seems like a bad idea to allow the politicians to screw around with the law. That's an attorney's job. By the way, during the last Northeaster it was so cold I saw a lawyer with her hands in her own pockets!