Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/111022
10A Daily News – Friday, February 22, 2013 Horse advocates anxious for First Amendment ruling RENO, Nev. (AP) — There may or may not be too many horses on federal lands in the West, but a U.S. district judge says there's not enough judicial staff in Nevada to deal anytime soon with an appeal over First Amendment rights at wild horse roundups. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks told lawyers for the government and a horse protection group he won't make a ruling until after March on a case sent back to his court last year by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was brought by Welcome to Laura Leigh, a photographer and leader of the group Wild Horse Education who says her freedom of press rights were violated in 2010 when she was denied access to mustang roundups in Nevada's eastern Lincoln County near the Utah line. A three-judge panel in San Francisco overturned Hicks' earlier ruling and told Hicks to reconsider whether the Bureau of Land Management's restrictions on media access to roundups are constitutional. ''Courts have a duty to conduct a thorough and searching review of any attempt to restrict public access,'' said Gordon Cowan, a Reno lawyer for Leigh. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and National Press Photographers Association have signed on as backers as friends of the court. Hick said at the close of a twoday hearing Wednesday that he recognizes it's an issue that ''strikes deeply in people's emotions and interests.'' ''I also recognize the government is placed in a difficult posi- tion. It seems no matter what they do, they are going to be subject to certain controversy and challenges,'' Hicks said. Hicks said Nevada's judicial district is so understaffed that four judges now oversee cases that seven judges used to handle. He added that the district's caseload has nearly doubled since it was fully staffed six years ago and that it was one of the busiest districts in the nation even then. Ninth Circuit Appellate Judge Milan Smith Jr. said in an 18-page opinion last February the court must balance the ''vital public interest in preserving the media's ability to monitor government activities against the government's need to impose restrictions if necessary for safety or other legitimate reasons.'' ''When the government announces it is excluding the press for reasons such as administrative convenience, preservation of evidence, or protection of reporters' safety, its real motive may be to prevent the gathering of information about government abuses or incompetence,'' the judge wrote. GROWNEY MOTORS Para mas informacion en Español, Llame Alex (530) 527-1034 1160 MAIN ST., RED BLUFF 0%FINANCING FOR 72 MONTHS. www.geogrowney.com BUICK OAC Serving the North State Since 1922 We Aim To Please Cool Deal Cool Deal Cool Deal 2009 GMC YUKON DENALI 2011 CHEVY 2500 4X4 2011 DODGE CREW CAB 4X4 LEATHER, LOADED. NICE. DIESEL, 4 DOOR, PRIOR RENTAL. BED LINER, AUTOMATIC, PRIOR RENTAL. $ #284889 39,995 PRIOR RENTAL $ #128273 35,995 4X4 $ #693708 23,995 CLEAN LEATHER 2012 GMC TERRAIN 2001 DODGE RAM 1500 2005 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER 2005 HONDA CIVIC 6 CYL, AWD. #144919 QUAD CAB. #243202 MOON ROOF, TURBO. #643398 LOCAL TRADE, GOOD MPG. #547679 26,995 $ 10,995 $ PRIOR RENTAL 4X4 2007 CHEVY AVALANCHE LEATHER, DVD PLAYER. #283813 19,995 $ 8,995 $ 8,995 $ 4X4 SHARP 2012 CHEVY MALIBU 2012 CHRYSLER 200 SEDAN 2004 FORD SUPER DUTY F-250 4 CYL, FUEL ECONOMY. #308055 PRIOR RENTAL. #104652 EXTENDED CAB, LEATHER. #B19957 16,995 $ 15,995 $ ALL PRICES PLUS SALES TAX, LICENSE FEES, DOC FEES, ANY FINANCE CHARGE, ANY DEALER PREPARATION CHARGE, ANY EMISSION CHARGE, ANY DOCUMENTATION PREPARATION CHARGE, ANY SMOG FEES AND ANY TIRE FEES. ALL VEHICLES SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE & CREDIT APPROVAL. SALE EXPIRES FEB. 28, 2013 16,995 $