Prosecutors oppose DeChristopher's defense

Prosecutors have asked a U.S. District Court judge to bar Tim DeChristopher from claiming his actions during a federal oil- and gas-lease auction were necessary to prevent the damage he believed the leases would cause to public lands.

"It becomes clear that the defendant's hopes are to have a prominent venue for his global-warming show; a platform from which he could educate the masses," wrote assistant U.S. attorney John Huber in court papers filed Friday.

"The public square is the proper stage for the defendant's message, not criminal proceedings in federal court," Huber wrote.

During a Dec. 19 auction conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, DeChristopher won 14 parcels of land totaling $1.7 million that he never intended to buy. He was later indicted for providing a false statement and violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act.

DeChristopher's attorneys have argued he acted out of necessity to prevent illegal government action, making a "choice of evils" when he decided to submit bogus bids for oil and gas leases on BLM land as an act of protest.

His attorney, Ron Yengich, has said DeChristopher's protest was "not typical" but was done because he was seeking to combat an outgoing administration that he believed was engaged in illegal acts, and "there was no other option in his mind."

In Friday's filing, however, Huber told Judge Dee Benson that DeChristopher has not met even one of the four elements required to argue a necessity defense.

"Failure to meet just one would bar the evidence from trial," Huber wrote. "Moreover, the federal rules of evidence preclude the proposed evidence as irrelevant, confusing and unduly prejudicial."

During a Sept. 25 hearing, Benson asked defense attorneys why they failed to provide more written support for their claim in their brief. Yengich said this was a conscious decision done in an effort to provoke a case based on evidence rather than written materials. He said he wants a jury to hear about the act from DeChristopher himself so it could understand that what he did wasn't criminal but nonviolent civil disobedience.

"I want 12 people, tried and true, basic American citizens to listen to another American citizen say, 'I'd rather go to jail than see that land sold,' " Yengich said.

Benson said during the hearing that, based on what he has read and heard, he "wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for an in-court evidentiary hearing" to determine whether DeChristopher had acted out of necessity.

"I'm reluctant to open my courtroom to a lengthy hearing on global warming and environmental concerns when this is a case based on simple criminal actions," the judge said.

DeChristopher's legal team has requested a hearing to allow their client to present witnesses who could be cross-examined, claiming it would provide "the most accurate means of making a full record of the defense DeChristopher would like to present to a jury."

Benson has not ruled on the defense request.

e-mail: gliesik@desnews.com Twitter: GeoffLiesik