Judge tosses laws restricting recruiters
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, June 18, 2009

(06-18) 18:44 PDT -- Without fanfare, a federal judge in Oakland today threw out voter-approved laws in two upper Northern California cities barring military recruiters from contacting minors.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ruled that laws passed in Arcata and Eureka in November were unconstitutional and invalid.

The finding was not unexpected by proponents of the laws, which passed with 73 percent of the vote in Arcata and 57 percent in Eureka. The federal government quickly sued to overturn the laws, which have been stayed ever since.

But Dave Meserve, the former Arcata councilman behind the laws, said he was disappointed that the judge ruled without hearing arguments on the case. Armstrong ruled on filed pleadings after a hearing scheduled this month was canceled.

"She doesn't respond to any of our arguments in any way," he said. "The order reads like a restatement of the government's case."

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