Letters: Legal derailment of the bullet train
Re “Ruling puts bullet train at risk,” Nov. 26
In terms of gubernatorial hubris, having a child with the housekeeper pales in comparison to Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to sue everyone in the state to try and preempt legal challenges to the deeply flawed high-speed rail plan.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny scored a legal bull’s eye by ruling in favor of the defendants (the people of California) in the state’s suit to disallow court challenges to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
This key ruling turns the procedural tide against the project, allowing further lawsuits to be filed. It raises questions about the legality of the authority’s conduct to date.
In addition, requiring the authority to provide a credible financial plan before the state can sell bonds authorized in 2008 by Proposition 1A will ultimately kill the project — as it should, because the self-supporting system the voters were promised is a lie.
James E. Moore II
Los Angeles
The writer is the director of USC’s transportation engineering program.
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