Mendocino Environmental Center v. Mendocino County

concurring:

I concur in Judge Reinhardt’s opinion. I write separately only to express my understanding that it holds that the cross-appeal is inextricably linked to the main appeal because the principal issue in the main appeal is whether the court’s immunity ruling is inconsistent with the order that is the subject of the cross appeal. The two rulings should be reviewed together. There is no need to speculate about what the relationship between the issues might be after they are decided.

Opinion by Judge REINHARDT; Concurrence by Judge SCHROEDER.

Shortly before noon on May 24, 1990, a bomb went off underneath Judi Bari’s car seat as she drove through Oakland, California. The explosion severely injured Bari, a prominent leader of the environmental organization Earth First!, shattering her pelvis and causing other serious internal injuries that left her in constant pain for the rest of her life. The explosion also caused lacerations and other injuries to Darryl Cherney, another Earth First! activist and a passenger in Bari’s car. Within twenty-four hours of the explosion,. Oakland police officers placed Bari and Cherney under arrest. Along with the FBI agents assigned to the investigation, the Oakland police concluded that the two injured individuals had been transporting the bomb and that an explosion had acci-dently been triggered.

Shortly after Bari’s arrest and immediately prior to Cherney’s, the police obtained a warrant and searched Bari’s residence; they later secured a second warrant for the same purpose. Law enforcement officials announced to the press their conclusion that Bari and Cherney were responsible for the explosion and released incriminating…