Originally Posted by
Yurt
An almost solid win for private property rights
Until the Feds appeal it and it gets overturned.
Nevada is in the Ninth Circus Court of Appeals' jurisdiction. The rancher is toast.
The 9th Circus will hold that since the Fed Govt regularly makes laws controlling the useage of supposedly-private property, in fact the Fed Govt really "owns" the land, not the rancher. (If they said this, it would be an amazingly accurate admission of fact, so instead they will couch it in "what's best for the people as a whole" terms). And therefore, the 9th will say, the Fed can make any laws they please, no matter how restrictive, and the rancer had better start digging his miles of irrigation ditches with only hand tools or get off the land and let the government take over.
But then, when it gets to the Supreme Court, things could get interesting. Among many of the questionable things GWB has done, his USSC appointments shine. And there is reason to believe President McCain's might be just as good, when the ancient leftist extremists on the bench start dropping like flies from old age. There might finally be a majority who say that Fed laws governing usage of private land are unconstitutional (true but far too sweeping, they may restrict it to only this one instance, but still a useful precedent). And they just might find in favor of the rancher.
If they do, it will be a landmark case.
"The social contract exists so that everyone doesn’t have to squat in the dust holding a spear to protect his woman and his meat all day every day. It does not exist so that the government can take your spear, your meat, and your woman because it knows better what to do with them." - Instapundit.com