Utility's jet flies Rehnquist to give speech in Ohio

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Chief Justice William Rehnquist took a utility's corporate jet to Ohio on Saturday so he could speak at the dedication of the state's new court building in Columbus.

American Electric Power flew Rehnquist at the request of the Ohio Supreme Court, which plans to pay for the $3,800 flight, said AEP spokesman Pat Hemlepp. The cost is more than three times the most expensive round-trip ticket between Washington and Columbus.

Security issues and Rehnquist's knee problem made a commercial flight impractical, said Ohio Supreme Court spokesman Chris Davey. ''We are hoping to save a little money because AEP has agreed to do it at cost,'' Davey told the Blade newspaper, which first reported the story Friday. ''This is not a favor.''

The propriety of the flight was being questioned by a watchdog group, Ohio Citizen Action, because AEP is being sued by the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department for allegedly violating the Clear Air Act. The case could reach the Supreme Court.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-justice16.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=556763

Glad to hear the Supreme Court of Ohio is now going to pay for the trip...

By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

Published: May 15, 2004


WASHINGTON, May 14 - A power plant company based in Ohio with a dozen cases in federal courts is flying Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to Columbus so he can deliver a speech on Saturday at the dedication of a judicial center.

The cost of using the corporate jet, which belongs to American Electric Power, one of the nation's largest utilities, is being covered by money raised from a $75-a-plate lunch after the speech at the center, the new home of the Ohio Supreme Court. But environmental groups in Ohio are expressing concern over the propriety of a Supreme Court justice's being accorded favors by a company that has so many active cases, including one that goes to trial next year involving accusations that its plant operations in Ohio violated the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists say the case could reach the Supreme Court.

The idea that A.E.P. is bending over backwards to get the chief justice to Ohio for this speech is offensive," said Sandy Buchanan, executive director of Ohio Citizen Action, the state's largest environmental group. "It could signal a potential conflict of interest, and it's a favor that would not be afforded to the average citizen."

Mike Eckhardt, policy director of the Ohio League of Conservation Voters, said the trip reflected "suspect behavior'' by Chief Justice Rehnquist, adding, "You'd have to consider that it would make him not an impartial justice" in any case involving the power company.

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more: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/15/politics/15trip.html

I dunno. Looks like corruption to me.

retire next march and take it easy.