KCTS 9 (PBS): Blaine-Canada Border Controversy
Elliot Feldman, Washington, D.C., partner and Leader of the firm's international trade practice, was featured on PBS affiliate KCTS 9 (Seattle, Washington) on its weekly newsmagazine program, "KCTS Connects," on June 12, 2009.
The segment, "Blaine-Canada Border Controversy," focuses on a lawsuit that arose when a Washington state couple erected a retaining wall which encroached on the American side of the 20-foot, obstruction-free "vista" that is supposed to be maintained on the Canada-U.S. border. The couple sued the International Boundary Commission (IBC), which is charged with maintaining the vista, for property rights violation. The IBC, which has both U.S. and Canadian components, had managed the border for 100 years independently, without interference, as an international organization.
Feldman was hired by Dennis Schornack, the then U.S. representative of the IBC, to defend the commission, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) told him he'd have to hire a lawyer with international experience. Schornack was later fired by the president, he believes, because he opposed the intervention of the U.S. Justice Department, which had done an "about-face" and wanted to negotiate a compromise with the couple that considered their private property complaints.
According to Feldman, "[Schornack] was told he had a few hours to fire his counsel, stand down and accept the authority of the Justice Department." According to the report, Feldman believes the firing of Schornack was political, that Schornack wasn't Republican enough. Feldman said the president had no right to fire Schornack because the treaty dictates that the commissioner is a lifetime position.
"We perceive this action as another example of the Justice Department under President Bush and [his] Administration trying to overreach and extend executive authority," said Feldman. Feldman also believes that Schornack's firing will destroy the IBC treaty because the U.S. government will now settle with the couple. "It would destroy the treaties," said Feldman. "It would therefore be an unprecedented intrusion on the part of a president of the United States on an international agreement."
To watch the full story from the KCTS website, click here.