Clinton Defendent in Cassini Lawsuit
Posted to the web: Fri Oct 10 15:09:30 EDT 1997
HONOLULU, Hawaii, October 10, 1997 (ENS) - President Bill Clinton and two
of his top science executives are facing an immediate lawsuit brought to
stop the launch of the Cassini space probe to Saturn.
This morning Federal District Court Judge David Ezra in Honolulu will hear
two cases brought by the Hawaii County Green Party and the Florida
Coalition for Peace and Justice.
The cases, filed on Wednesday, are being heard as a matter of urgency. The
Cassini launch is now scheduled for October 13, 4:45 am EDT from Cape
Canaveral, Florida.
John Gibbons, Director of the President's Office of Science and Technology
Policy, and Daniel Goldin, Administrator of the National Aeronatics and
Space Administration (NASA) are President Clinton's co-defendents.
The first case is a civil rights issue - that the time between the date
when the President's required approval of the Cassini launch was given on
October 3 and the launch date October 13 is not enough time to take any
challenge of the launch to court - resulting in a loss of due process
before the law for American citizens. "It amounts to the executive branch
usurping the judicial function," says the plantiff's lawyer, Lanny Sinkow.
The second case challenges the actual decision to launch, by seeking an
injunction to halt the lift-off.
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