Recent court decisions, which one hopes will soon be further appealed, strike another blow against both property rights and rational thinking in New York State, both of which have already been in very short supply.

Well, the New York State’s Third Judicial Department has upheld the Dryden and Middlefield decisions, and our friends on the other side are doing some early crowing. It’s a disappointing but hardly unexpected decision, as readers of this blog know from observers who commented here.

It’s not the end of the road, of course, but only a fool would think it’s good news. It’s exceedingly bad news for a state already ranked dead last in personal and economic freedom, according to researchers from George Mason University. And yet, one more property right may well be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness if this decision holds up on appeal to the state’s highest court.

Nonetheless, one gains hope from the sloppy, and clearly political, nature of the decisions. There are two indicators of this that tell us most of what we need to know.

http://eidmarcellus.org/marcellus-shale/new-york-appeals-court-find...