|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
ABM Treaty: House Democrat May Appeal Lawsuit Dismissal By Mike Nartker Kucinich is considering his options with his lawyers and the 31 other House of Representatives members who joined the suit, Gordon said, adding that the other representatives remain supportive of Kucinich’s attempts to block the treaty withdrawal. Kucinich can appeal U.S. District Judge John Bates’s decision to dismiss the case, which was filed Dec. 30, within 60 days, said John Burroughs, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. The dismissal disappointed Kucinich, who believed the plaintiffs had a strong case that deserved to be heard, Gordon said. In a statement following Bates’ decision, Kucinich hinted that he would appeal. “I will continue my efforts to protect national security and to enforce international law,” Kucinich said. The U.S. Justice Department, which had represented the Bush administration in the case, was pleased by Bates’s decision, department spokeswoman Monica Goodling said. In their June 2002 lawsuit, House plaintiffs argued the Bush administration could not withdraw the United States from a treaty without first seeking congressional approval. Justice officials claimed the U.S. Constitution gave the president full authority over most treaty issues (see GSN, Aug. 8). In his decision, Judge Bates said the dispute was a political issue and not a legal matter. “Permitting individual congressmen to run to federal court any time they are on the losing end of some vote or issue would circumvent and undermine the legislative process, and risk substituting judicial considerations and assessments for legislative ones,” Bates said in his decision. The U.S. legal system has previously addressed the question of whether members of Congress could sue to halt the U.S. withdrawal from an international treaty. In 1979, former Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) filed a suit to block former President Jimmy Carter’s decision to end, without consulting Congress, a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan (see GSN, June 12, 2002). While in the Goldwater lawsuit, a federal district court agreed to hear the case and sided with the plaintiffs, it ultimately made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which voted 6-3 to dismiss. In his statement, Kucinich blamed the Bush administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the ABM Treaty for the current conflict surrounding North Korea’s relaunched nuclear program (see GSN, Jan. 8). “The North Koreans obviously are taking advantage of the destruction of the ABM Treaty,” Kucinich said. “There is no question that North Korea’s recent actions are a direct consequence of the administration’s decision to pull out from an agreement to control nuclear weapons,” he added. For further information, see: ABM Treaty Text and Associated Documents (U.S. Defense Department) U.S. Fact Sheet on Withdrawal from ABM Treaty
| ||||||||||
Back to top
