The Reagan appointee who this week shot down the federal government's "abitrary and capricious" deepwater drilling moratorium has a reversal record that is the second-lowest among judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, according to a profile of U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman on the website Law.com.
The Reagan appointee who this week shot down the federal government's "abitrary and capricious" deepwater drilling moratorium has a reversal record that is the second-lowest among judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, according to a profile of U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman on the website Law.com.
The story notes that the New Orleans jurist's nearly 3-decade-old relatively quiet career was disrupted this week, when he struck down the administration's drilling ban. When news of his decision broke, it was soon revealed that Feldman held stock in at least 10 energy companies, including Halliburton, which was in charge of cementing for the Deepwater Horizon, and $15,000 in stock in Transocean Ltd., the company that owned the BP rig.
Feldman listed those assets in his 2008 financial disclosure. It's unclear whether he still owns those stocks and how much he owns. The judge did not return a telephone call requesting an interview for Law.com's Thursday story, which reports:
With a reversal record since 2000 that is the second-lowest among the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Martin Feldman has navigated his position without much drama. Within the New Orleans legal community, the 1983 Reagan appointee has a reputation for demanding exactness and little tolerance for missteps from the attorneys who appear in his court.
"He can be terrifying," said a New Orleans attorney who didn't want to be identified because the judge has presided over some of his cases.
Since 2000, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed Feldman 10 times, affirmed 107 out of 159 of his decisions and dismissed 24 appeals.
Read the profile here.