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Eye On Boise

Advocates: ‘This is right - a judge is taking this seriously’

Laird Lucas, attorney with Advocates for the West, which is representing three river canyon residents who sued over proposed giant oversized truck shipments along U.S. Highway 12, said Advocates for the West is posting the $3,000 bond required by the judge this afternoon, and the temporary restraining order will be in effect, blocking the shipments. Such bonds are required by rules of civil procedure, Lucas said. "Of course we're pleased," he said. "This is just an early look, we all know that. ... The judge is just looking at our pleadings. ... He finds that we may suffer great damage and that the department may be violating its own regulations. Those are the two key issues, the two things you need for an injunction are likelihood of prevailing and irreparable harm. Now we're going to hear from ITD and go to a further hearing on Friday. This is just a temporary restraining order - it's what we asked for."

Lucas, whose group is representing the plaintiffs pro-bono, said, "This is right - a judge is taking this seriously. We wish the Department of Transportation had taken it as seriously as the courts are."



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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