THE DRILLING MORATORIUM, THE INJUNCTION AND THE JUDICIAL CODE OF CONDUCT 26
Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Barack Obama placed a hold on all offshore oil drilling that drilled deeper than 500 ft. That moratorium put many people out of work and jeopardized companies engaged in offshore drilling operations. Some filed a lawsuit. The case was assigned to federal judge Martin Feldman. On June 22, 2010 the judge issued an injunction lifting the moratorium. There is a major problem with that order. Judge Feldman reported in 2008 on some ten pages his investments, many of which in companies that engage in offshore drilling or related business. Among those companies is Halliburton, which caused the Horizon disaster by delivering a faulty cement job. He even owned stock — some 000 worth, in Transocean. Now, how can a judge not be influenced in deciding an offshore moratorium when he owns stock in companies that engage in offshore drilling?