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The oft-delayed trial of bogus bidder Tim DeChristopher has been postponed again -- to Sept. 13. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson had a conflicting court assignment June 21, forcing the four-day jury trial to be rescheduled. DeChristopher faces two felony counts stemming from his admitted false bidding during a 2008 oil and gas lease auction. Then an economics student at the University of Utah, DeChristopher bid $1.8 million last December for lease parcels in southeastern Utah with no intention of paying. He has said he wanted to protest Bush administration policies and draw attention to climate change. Eleven of the parcels, near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument, were among 77 that conservation groups successfully sued to prevent the Bureau of Land Management from processing after the auction. Benson has ruled against a so-called lesser-evils, or necessity, defense, forbidding DeChristopher from arguing that his monkey-wrenching was an act of civil disobedience to combat the global climate crisis. His attorneys also planned to mount a selective-prosecution defense. They noted that dozens of other bidders who failed to pay have not faced any legal consequences. In March, Benson denied a defense motion to compel the government to produce records of e-mails or other communications between the BLM, the Justice Department and the Interior Department discussing how or why DeChristopher should be prosecuted. Auction » Tim DeChristopher disrupted a U.S. Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction Dec. 19, 2008, in Salt Lake City. Winning bids » After he bid $1.8 million to win bids on parcels near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and drove up bidding on several others, BLM agents removed him from the auction room for questioning. Civil disobedience » The then-University of Utah economics major acknowledged his false bidding, saying it was an act of civil disobedience in protest of Bush administration policies that worsened the global climate crisis. Leases shelved » On Feb. 4, 2009, Ken Salazar, President Barack Obama's Interior secretary, shelved 77 contested lease parcels, including ones DeChristopher won, and scolded the Bush team for rushing reviews of the disputed sites. Indictment » On April 1, 2009, a federal grand jury handed up a two-count felony indictment against DeChristopher for violating the terms of the auction he promised to observe when he signed up to bid. He pleaded not guilty April 28. Defense denied » On Nov. 16, 2009, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson refused to let DeChristopher argue in court that he tried to sabotage the auction to combat the climate-change crisis. New defense sought » DeChristopher's attorneys later filed a motion arguing their client is a victim of selective prosecution. In March 2010, Benson refused to force prosecutors to turn over more documents about other bidders who failed to pay. Trial reset » A jury trial, set for June 21, has been pushed back to Sept. 13.
DeChristopher Trial Delayed Again
NEWS: DeChristopher Trial Delayed Again
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