Federal Judge Won't Intervene In State Case Concerning NB Zoo

The attempt to get a federal judge to intervene in the hearing in state court in Rockbridge County on the seizure of animals at the Natural Bridge Zoo has failed.

Judge Norman K. Moon Tuesday afternoon denied a motion for the emergency temporary injunction after a “status conference” with attorneys for the zoo and the director of the animal law unit of the Virginia attorney general’s office on Monday and further filings by both parties Monday night and Tuesday morning.

That means the hearing in the Lexington/Rockbridge General District Court scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday will proceed as scheduled.

Mario Williams, attorney for the owners of the zoo, Karl and Debbie Mogensen, had filed the motion for the injunction in federal court early last week, claiming that the 10-day notice filed by the state attorney general’s office for the civil forfeiture hearing did not give the zoo time to mount an adequate defense. The notice was filed on Friday, Dec. 8, after approximately 95 animals were seized by the state the previous two days.

In his 16-page ruling, Moon cited case law that stated, “Since the beginning of this country Congress has, subject to a few exceptions, manifested a desire to permit state courts to try states cases free from interference by federal courts.”

He proceeded to go through what those exceptions could be, but ruled that the zoo’s attorney did not prove that the legal requirements for those exceptions were met in this case.

“Although the timeframe may not be ideal for the Plaintiffs, it is not so short that they have no opportunity to prepare a robust defense,” Moon wrote. He also noted that the Mogensens will have the right to appeal any decision made at the general district court level.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 20 issue of The News-Gazette.