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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 Supreme Court takes the wheel in cases of vehicle searches By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s justices put themselves in the driver’s seat Tuesday, hearing arguments in two cases involving vehi- cle searches, but it was unclear what routes the justices will take to resolve the cases. One case involved Penn- sylvania state troopers’ stop of a rental car driven by a man who wasn’t on the rental agree- ment. The second involved a policeman’s search for a stolen motorcycle in Virginia. “One of the things that I think is very important in these types of cases is the ability to give clear guidance not only to the courts but to the police,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. Justice Stephen Breyer, when trying to describe a res- olution to the case, said he was “looking for something simple.” Rental cars The first case involves Ter- rence Byrd, who was driv- ing his fiancee’s rental car on a Pennsylvania highway when a state trooper pulled him over for an alleged minor traffic vio- lation. He acted nervous during the stop and told troopers he had a marijuana cigarette in the car, and officers decided to search the car. Because the rental agree- ment didn’t authorize Byrd to drive the gray Ford Fusion, troopers told him they didn’t need his consent for the search. And when troopers opened the trunk, they found body armor and about 2,500 little bags of heroin. Byrd later acknowl- edged he planned to sell the drugs for roughly $7,000, and a court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Byrd’s attorneys argue his case has potential conse- quences for the 115 million car rentals that take place annually in the United States. They say that if the government wins, police will have an incentive to pull over a rental car driver who commits a traffic violation because police will know they AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite People stand on the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to attend arguments Tuesday. can search the car if the driver isn’t on the rental agreement. Byrd tried to get the evi- dence from the search excluded from his case. But a court ruled that because Byrd was an unau- thorized driver, he had no rea- sonable expectation of pri- vacy in the car and therefore couldn’t challenge the search using the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unrea- sonable searches. The Trump administration and courts in several parts of the country agree that’s the right outcome. Other courts disagree. On Tuesday, Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito seemed to be the most willing to side with the government while Jus- tice Sonia Sotomayor seemed strongly sympathetic to Byrd’s argument. “If we rule that … someone has no expectation of privacy even when the renter has given it to them, then what we’re authorizing is the police to stop every rental car and search every rental car, without proba- ble cause, that might be on the road,” Sotomayor said. Byrd’s case dates to 2014, when Latasha Reed, with whom he has five children, rented a car from a Budget rental office in New Jersey. Byrd’s lawyers say Reed was his fiancee and the government calls her Byrd’s girlfriend, but both sides agree that the rental agreement didn’t cover Byrd. Even so, Reed handed him the keys as soon as she left the rental office. He was later pulled over while driving alone near Harrisburg. The reason a trooper gave for pulling Byrd over was that he spent too long in the left lane making a pass- ing maneuver. Vehicle on private property The second case the justices heart Tuesday addressed the issue of whether police need a warrant before searching a vehicle on private property out- side a home. Police arrested Austin Col- lins after an officer walked onto his driveway and pulled back a tarp covering Collins’ motor- cycle. It turned out to be sto- len. The officer did not have a warrant. Probing the extent of Vir- ginia lawyer Trevor Cox’s argument in defense of the offi- cer’s action, Roberts used some pop culture references as he wondered how far officers can go in their searches. “I mean, if you have an automobile in the house … Jay Leno’s house, right, where he’s got dozens of rare cars or the Porsche in Ferris Bueller,” Roberts said, invoking the for- mer NBC “Tonight Show” host and a scene from the iconic 1980s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Roberts had the right idea, but the wrong make of car. The car Bueller took for a ride was a Ferrari. Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report. Politically important Florida gets a pass on drilling plan By GARY FINEOUT and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press E.J. Harris/EO Media Group Water falls over the spillway at the McNary Dam on the Columbia River near Umatilla. Federal court approves plan to help salmon by spilling more water over Columbia River dams By CASSANDRA PROFITA Oregon Public Broadcasting A federal judge has approved a plan to spill more water through dams in the Columbia River Basin this spring. It’s part of an ongoing lawsuit over how to manage dams to protect threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon ordered dam managers to develop a plan to spill more water on the Columbia and Snake rivers to help fish. Spilling more water means generating less power, which could raise the price of electricity. EarthJustice attorney Todd True represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including con- servation groups, the state of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe. He says spilling more water will help move baby salmon downriver toward the ocean while avoiding danger- ous turbines. “It’s something we can do immediately that will help salmon that are on the brink of extinction,” he said. “The fed- eral agencies have refused to provide spill at this level in the past so the court has ordered them to do that.” The court ordered as much spill as the law allows. State laws set limits on how much water can be spilled over dams before the gases produced in the process may become harmful to fish. Dam managers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers submitted their new spill plan to the court last month. They will start spill- ing more water through dams in April. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Trump administra- tion says it will not allow oil drilling off the coast of Flor- ida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republi- can Gov. Rick Scott. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drill- ing would be “off the table” when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. The change of course — just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drill- ing plan — highlights the political importance of Flor- ida, where President Don- ald Trump narrowly won the state’s 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encour- aged Scott to run for Senate. The state is also important economically, with a multibil- lion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches. Zinke said Tuesday that “Florida is obviously unique” and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott. Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including sev- eral possible drilling opera- tions off Florida, where drill- ing is now blocked. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected. Other Republican gov- ernors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker. “For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Flor- ida, which clearly the gov- ernor has expressed that’s important,” Zinke said, add- ing that he knew when he announced the drilling plan last week that it would spark discussion across the country.” Waldorf: ‘If we look at Septic system: The duplex was built in 1977 what’s holding economic Continued from Page 1A Bryan Derby disputed the The duplex, a single- doza said. family home built in 1977 on “I received a call from him health department’s findings. Derby was Fifer Heights Road, is split around the holidays stating “There’s no seepage. There’s development back ... it is given In the three notice, options: develop between the Willetts and that in fact his septic system no standing water. There’s a repair plan within 10 days; the Derbys. Septic systems was working, and his lawyer nothing,” he said. “It’s drain- always housing’ hire a professional contrac- are in place on both advised him he had rights,” ing out into the drain field Continued from Page 1A The nonprofit has rede- veloped many historic build- ings as affordable housing in the Portland area. The Wal- dorf — also known as the Merwyn — will be a chal- lenge, but a familiar one, Garver said. The project is estimated to cost around $7.1 million and wouldn’t be possible without grants or tax incentives. Garver expects they will hear back about applications for state funding sources by May or June. “If we get funded the first time around by the state, we can start as early as this time next year,” Garver said. While the organization has also planned for the possibil- ity that the project won’t be funded the first time around, they are confident they have a strong case, especially given the community sup- port for the renovation. When Sarah Lu Heath, executive director of the Astoria Downtown His- toric District Association, first came to Astoria a year ago to take on the job, she asked people, “If you could change one thing in down- town, what would that be?” “Overwhelmingly it was either ’Make Marine Drive more attractive,’ which we are working on, or ‘Save the Merwyn,’” she told the Planning Commission. The downtown association has worked closely with Garver since Innovative Housing began expressing interest in establishing housing in Astoria. “If we look at what’s holding economic devel- opment back in Astoria it is always housing,” Heath said. Garver said the majority of the studios and one-bed- room apartments that will fill the upper floors of the Waldorf will rent for $425 to $550 a month, aimed at peo- ple with incomes between $19,750 and $27,060. City staff had recom- mended approval of Innova- tive Housing’s application with a handful of conditions that ranged from imple- menting a parking strategy to the more typical require- ments to obtain all necessary permits and submit an occu- pational tax application. Given the historic nature of the building, any major modifications in the future will need to be reviewed by the Historic Landmarks Commission. tor to hook up to a munici- pal sewer within 10 days; or vacate the property within 30 days. To date, Derby remains in his home and the septic has yet to be repaired. “Thirty days came and went,” Willett said. “They’ve chosen to do nothing.” Taking steps Despite the delay, city and county officials say they are taking the steps necessary to satisfy all parties. “The city doesn’t just move in there and shut things off,” Mendoza said. “I know it’s very frustrating to Kevin, but these things actually take quite a while.” properties. When Willett first brought the matter to the city’s atten- tion about two years ago, offi- cials from the city and the health department walked the property, City Administrator Chad Sweet said, and found no issue. Mendoza re-evaluated the system at Willett’s request in September, leading to her determination that Derby’s system was failing. That trig- gered the notice and order of violation. Derby denied the system was failing and has the option to conduct an evaluation by an independent professional to determine whether the sys- tem is leaking or not, Men- Mendoza said. She said she is drafting a letter stating he may choose to have an evaluation to ver- ify his claim. The city will not be able to turn off water to the build- ing until after the indepen- dent determination, Mendoza said. ‘Vendetta’ Derby’s brother, Bryan, said Willett’s complaints are part of a long-standing “ven- detta” and an attempt to get his family out of the house. “He has pestered every- body,” Bryan Derby said. “He thinks he can get us out, then he’ll pay the taxes and move over to our side.” fine.” Meanwhile, Willett wants the city to enforce the coun- ty’s October order. “The 30 days is over,” he said. “They were supposed to come out and condemn it. … They have done nothing.” Sweet said Tuesday that the October order was a warn- ing. The city is “working on the issue now,” he explained, awaiting an official letter from the health department before turning off the water to the Derby portion of the duplex. “We’re taking the steps in the process,” he said. “These are people’s lives that we are dealing with here, not just his (Willett’s) desires.” LaMear: Filing opens on May 30, closes Aug. 28 Continued from Page 1A Families and volunteered as a court-appointed special advo- cate. She has been the pres- ident of the Astoria chapters of the American Association of University Women and the Women’s Political Caucus. The city hasn’t had many inquiries from other poten- tial candidates for mayor and council yet. City Manager Brett Estes said he has fielded a few questions. It is still early to start contemplating a Novem- ber election, said Finance Director Susan Brooks, who also serves as the city’s elec- tions official. Filing opens on May 30 and closes Aug. 28. “People usually file early,” Brooks said. In 2014, Price ran unop- posed for the Ward 3 seat, representing the bulk of downtown, while Nemlow- ill defeated challenger George McCartin for the Ward 1 seat. Ward 1 covers the northwest- ern swath of Astoria. Price, a writer, researcher, editor and radio broadcaster, has lived in Astoria since 1996. She is married to District Attorney Josh Marquis, who recently announced he will not be running for re-election. Nemlowill, who grew up in Astoria, is the marketing direc- tor at Astoria Co-op Grocery. She previously served nine years on the Planning Com- mission, three of those years as president. She is married to Chris Nemlowill, co-owner of Fort George Brewery. The City Council includes Bruce Jones and Tom Brown- son. Both men were elected in 2016 and their terms run through the end of 2020.