Judge Karlton declares “Bush taking responsibility” unconstitutional

Sacramento (September 15, 2005) – Just minutes before President Bush’s major speech on Katrina, Judge Lawrence Karlton of the Ninth Circuit Court issued an emergency ruling that the “responsibility” that President Bush took for federal actions in response to the Katrina disaster was “unconstitutional.” He declared that Katrina was clearly a “state and local” case, and thus did not allow for a “federal super-duper” legal interference. Only “state and local responsibility” were appropriate in this case. By assuming federal responsibility , President Bush “clearly” violated the federalistic spirit of the Constitution, Judge Karlton said. No “stare-decisis” could be made in this case, he added. If President Bush continued to maintain this position and mentioned the word “responsibility” in tonight’s address to the nation, he “will take the case to the Supreme Court,” Judge Karlton insisted.