3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Appeals court sides with
Ex-girlfriend doesn’t have to
states on Trump travel ban pay Schnitzer for attorney fees
‘See you in court,’
president tweets
By SUDHIN THANAWALA
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — The legal
fi ght over President Donald Trump’s
ban on travelers from seven predomi-
nantly Muslim nations is on hold after
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
refused to reinstate the order, unani-
mously rejecting the administration’s
claim of presidential authority, ques-
tioning its motives and concluding
that the order was unlikely to survive
legal challenges.
In a rebuke to the Trump admin-
istration Thursday, the three federal
appellate judges sided with the states
of Washington and Minnesota on
nearly every matter, opening the pos-
sibility that the case could shift to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
In a tweet Friday, Trump called the
decision disgraceful. Trump quoted
an article by Benjamin Wittes, editor-
in-chief of the Lawfare blog. It reads,
“Remarkably, in the entire opinion,
the panel did not bother even to cite
this (the) statute.” Trump tweeted, “A
disgraceful decision!”
Moments after the ruling Thurs-
day, Trump tweeted, “SEE YOU IN
COURT,” adding that “THE SECU-
RITY OF OUR NATION IS AT
STAKE!”
Next step unclear
But it is unclear what Trump’s next
move will be. The Justice Department
said it is reviewing the decision and
considering its options. It was the fi rst
day on the job for new Attorney Gen-
eral Jeff Sessions.
The lower court action so far
is temporary and hasn’t resolved
broader questions about the legality
of Trump’s order. While the ban is on
hold, refugees and people from seven
majority-Muslim nations identifi ed in
the president’s Jan. 27 executive order
can continue traveling to the U.S.
The appellate judges noted com-
pelling public interests on both sides.
“On the one hand, the public has a
powerful interest in national security
and in the ability of an elected pres-
ident to enact policies. And on the
other, the public also has an interest in
free fl ow of travel, in avoiding separa-
tion of families, and in freedom from
discrimination.”
The administration could appeal
the ruling to a larger 9th Circuit panel
or bypass that step and go straight to
the U.S. Supreme Court. That could
put the decision over whether to keep
the temporary restraining order sus-
pending the ban in the hands of a
divided court that has a vacancy.
Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, can-
not be confi rmed in time to take part
in any consideration of the ban, which
would expire in 90 days unless it is
changed.
The ban also faces dozens of other
lawsuits, some fi led by would-be refu-
gees directly affected by it.
Lack of evidence
Stephen Vladeck, a professor at
the University of Texas School of
Law, said two footnotes near the end
of the opinion struck him as most sig-
nifi cant because they challenged the
government’s assertion that national
security was at stake. Without evi-
dence of the threat migrants would
pose to security, the court couldn’t
balance that assertion against harm
they would suffer if not allowed to
enter the country.
“It’s not enough for the president
to simply proclaim that the executive
order is necessary to protect national
security,” Vladeck said, paraphras-
ing the ruling. “He needs to give us
at least some basis for agreeing with
him.”
The 9th Circuit judges rejected the
administration’s argument that courts
did not have the authority to review
the president’s immigration and
national security decisions. They said
the administration failed to show that
the order met constitutional require-
ments to provide notice or a hearing
before restricting travel. And they
said the administration presented no
evidence that any foreigner from the
seven countries was responsible for a
terrorist attack in the U.S.
Last week, U.S. District Judge
James Robart in Seattle issued a tem-
porary restraining order halting the
ban after Washington state and Min-
nesota sued. The ban temporarily sus-
pended the nation’s refugee program
and immigration from countries that
have raised terrorism concerns.
Asked to respond to Trump’s
tweet, Washington Attorney General
Bob Ferguson said, “We have seen
him in court twice and we’re two for
two, that’s number one. And in my
view, the future of the constitution is
at stake.”
Associated Press writers Brian
Melley in Los Angeles, Gene John-
son and Martha Bellisle in Seat-
tle, Rachel La Corte in Olympia,
Washington, and Eric Tucker in
Washington, D.C., contributed to
this report.
Squabble over
surrogate baby
arrangement
By AIMEE GREEN
The Oregonian
Portland real estate mogul Jor-
dan Schnitzer has lost his attempt
to force his ex-girlfriend to pay
$269,000 in attorneys’ fees —
money that he spent last year trying
to keep her from seeing the son cre-
ated with his sperm and her egg.
Multnomah County Circuit
Judge Katherine Tennyson said
Wednesday she won’t order Cory
Sause to pay Schnitzer’s hefty legal
bills, generated by at least 10 law-
yers he hired.
Hotel aims to draw golfers to Gearhart
McMenamins
Gearhart Hotel
to expand old barn
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — An eyesore
“held together by paint” is coming
down after the Planning Commis-
sion approved a new 16-room hotel
with a golf teaching facility adja-
cent to the Gearhart Golf Course and
McMenamins Gearhart Hotel.
Portland architect George Signori
displayed plans for altering and expand-
ing the existing cart barn structure to a
new building with guest rooms, golf
training room and cart storage.
Since the original cart barn was
built partially over the front prop-
erty line, commission approval for
a nonconforming structure was
necessary
The barn “is held together by
paint,” General Manager and Director
of Golf Jason Bangild said. “Its con-
dition is deplorable. When you come
down from Astoria, it’s the fi rst thing
you see and the last thing you see.”
The proposed three-story struc-
ture increases the size of the cart barn
by 85 percent, for a total area of more
than 13,000 square feet.
Design of the new building was
based on the existing English manor
house style of the neighboring
McMenamins Gearhart Hotel, with
Astoria post offi ce struggles
to cope with staff shortages
Customers have
complained
about service
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Staff shortages have caused
service issues at the U.S. Post
Offi ce in Astoria in the past few
months.
Since late last year , fi ve
postal carriers have either
resigned or quit, Peter Hass, a
spokesman, said.
“We apologize for any incon-
venience customers may have
with their delivery, but we do
want to hear from them as soon
as possible about problems with
their mail delivery,” Hass said.
Two carriers have been hired
since then, while other positions
have been transitioned from part
time to full time. Two more job
openings will be posted next
week, Hass said.
Part of the problem has
been that the staff shortages
came around the holiday sea-
son, which typically is the bus-
iest time of the year for the post
offi ce, Hass said.
A Daily Astorian Facebook
post in late January asked read-
ers to describe their experiences
with the post offi ce over the past
few months. Included in the
more than 85 comments were
complaints of inconsistent deliv-
ery times, rude service and long
lines at the post offi ce, carriers
not knocking on doors when
delivering packages, incor-
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
The golf cart building next to McMenamins Gearhart Hotel will see
a modification and expansion after Planning Commission approval.
Astoria man guilty of attempted arson
The Daily Astorian
rect delivery locations and mail
boxes left open.
Customers hoping to avoid
long lines may wish to avoid the
post offi ce near its busiest times
— weekdays at 8:30 a.m., noon
and 5 p.m — Hass said.
Employees have been made
aware of the complaints, Hass
said. Questions, comments or
concerns can be directed to usps.
com, 1-800-ask-USPS or the
consumer affairs offi ce in Port-
land at 503-294-2536.
A man who set an
Astoria apartment build-
ing ablaze last June has
been found guilty on
two counts of attempted
arson.
Christopher
Ray
Young, 44, of Astoria,
pleaded no contest Thurs-
day to the two counts
as part of a plea agree-
ment with the Clatsop
County District Attor-
ney’s Office.
Young was originally
charged with four counts
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of methamphetamine at the
time of arrest.
Young’s sentencing hear-
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month . The plea agreement
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vided an aesthetically pleasing way
to accomplish that goal, Signori said.
David Smith asked fellow com-
missioners to determine if there was
a demand for the new building, one of
the criteria in Gearhart’s master plan
for a conditional use permit.
“I’ve talked to the constituents in
my neighborhood, and I’ve yet to fi nd
anybody who lives here who can fi nd
a need for an increased presence on
the Gearhart golf course,” Smith said.
“Who defi nes the demand and how is
that determined?”
“We can tell you there’s a need
from the owner’s side,” Signori said.
a main house and a “dependency,”
Signori said. “What we’ve done here
is really beautify the golf course.”
The proposed structure includes a
virtual golf training facility on the fi rst
fl oor, guest rooms on the fi rst and sec-
ond fl oors and golf cart storage in the
basement, Signori said.
Forty-two new parking spaces are
proposed on the building’s east side.
One design alteration drawing
comment was a plan to install Verizon
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relationship with Sause didn’t work
out. Schnitzer hasn’t let Sause see
the boy since the day he was born in
December 2015.
Sause has said the plan was
always that the boy would live with
Schnitzer but she would be a part of
his life.
After the ruling last summer,
Schnitzer claimed Sause needlessly
cost him $269,000 in attorneys’
fees, plus about $7,500 in other
costs, for her “frivolous claim.”
Schnitzer’s lawyers state in court
papers that they billed him from
$165 an hour to $400 an hour.
Since the hearing, both Schnitzer
and Sause have fi led new court
papers to try to settle the question
of parental rights once and for all. A
nine-day trial is scheduled for Sep-
tember and October.
The decision came in part, the
judge said, because she didn’t want
to “reward” either side for a major
mistake: failing to draw up ade-
quate legal documents outlining
their parental rights to the boy born
by surrogate 13 months ago.
Both sides racked up considerable
legal fees leading up to and through
three days of hearings last June and
July as Sause sought to undo a legal
declaration that Schnitzer was the
boy’s sole legal parent.
In August, Tennyson ruled in
favor of Schnitzer — failing to undo
the declaration — but at the same
time left the door open for Sause
to take up the matter again by fi ling
new court papers.
Schnitzer has said the plan was
always for him to be the only par-
ent in the boy’s life if his romantic
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