Rhode Island Fishermen's Allia, et al v. Rhode Island Department of Env, et al

Filing 920091023

Opinion

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var WPFootnote1 = ' A "control date" is "[a] cut off date for potential use in\
establishing eligibility criteria for future access to a fishery." \
12-080-054 R.I. Code. R. 5.17. Neither the relevant statute nor\
the challenged regulation, however, defines the term "retroactive\
control date." The plaintiffs aver that the DEM employed\
"retroactive control dates" by limiting, in 2006, fishermen\'s\
future access to fishing resources based on each fisherman\'s\
documented catch during 2001-2003. \
'

var WPFootnote2 = ' For example, R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2.1-9 may be read to\
suggest that it is violated when the director adopts retroactive\
control dates that, while not "expressly" required by federal law,\
are impliedly required. In that event, a defendant would be able\
to attack the state statute on the ground that it conflicts with\
federal law and is, therefore, preempted. See, e.g., Gibbons v.\
Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1, 2 (1824). But that hypothetical\
defendant would have to mount this attack as a defense, which would\
not provide a sufficient basis for federal question jurisdiction. \
See Mottley, 211 U.S. at 152.\
'

var WPFootnote3 = ' The fact that the embedded federal question in this case\
presents an abstract question of law reinforces this view. See\
Empire HealthChoice Assur., Inc. v. McVeigh, 547 U.S. 677, 700-01\
(2006).\
'

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