Opponents assail court nominee

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Virginia
TIMES DISPATCH
Opponents assail court nominee
They say legal team of Haynes supported the bombing of birds
By Peter Hardin
Jan 3, 2004

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's top lawyer, nominated by President Bush to
the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is getting heat from critics who
contend his legal team argued that bombing birds is good for
bird-watching.

William J. Haynes II of Northern Virginia, the Pentagon's general
counsel, was nominated Sept. 29. At his confirmation hearing last year,
debate focused on the Bush administration's treatment of detainees and
prosecution of enemy combatants since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Haynes, a 45-year-old native of Texas, drew strong support from
Republican senators who attended and sharp questioning from some liberal
Democrats. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his
nomination Nov. 19 but did not vote on it before adjourning last month.
With additional time to dig into his record, environmentalists and Bush
opponents recently spotlighted a case from 2002 in an effort to portray
Haynes' environmental record as wanting.

A federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton enjoined the U.S. Navy from
conducting joint live-fire military training exercises on a small
uninhabited island in the Western Pacific, Farallon de Medinilla (FDM),
in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Haynes has listed the case as the second-most significant one he has
litigated. While Haynes did not argue the case in court, he said in
papers submitted to the Judiciary Committee that he participated
primarily by "developing and approving litigation strategy" and ensuring
it matched administration goals, while acting through a deputy.

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan halted military bombing on FDM in response to a
lawsuit by conservationists contending that the island was an important
nesting spot for migratory birds and that the exercises violated the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

In a 43-page opinion, the judge, seated on the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia, agreed. He also questioned the federal
government's adopting a supportive argument by the Washington Legal
Foundation, that bird-watchers benefited by the military's bird-killing.
The foundation is a conservative Washington-based group.

When bird-watchers see the birds that remain, they " 'get more enjoyment
spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one,'" Sullivan
quoted from legal papers submitted by the government.

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