California supreme court declines to hear due process appeal

Sometimes life comes at you fast. Just last week we reported on our letter asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. California Coastal Commission, to decide whether an enforcement agency can compromise its constitutionally required neutrality by putting its decidedly biased enforcement staff in charge of defending its enforcement decisions in court.

Just yesterday morning, the California Supreme Court denied review. The case will now resume in the lower courts to address other issues, but it is impossible to see how a permanently compromised Coastal Commission can give the Oyster Company a fair hearing on remand.

The world may be your oyster, but the Coastal Commission enforcement staff is pretty sure your oyster is theirs.