Okla. poultry trial slowed by constant squabbling

Oklahoma's trial against poultry companies slowed by wave of motions, constant squabbling

• By Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press Writer
• On 7:53 am EDT, Thursday October 8, 2009

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma's pollution trial has gone on for six days, but so far only the lawyers seem to be winning.

The trial has featured more courtroom theatrics than substance, with more than two-dozen attorneys trading barbs and bluster, and an irritable judge who has had to rule on a steady chorus of objections and other legal arguments raised by each side.

On Wednesday, attorneys squabbled for a good chunk of the day over the admissibility of several reports dealing with water quality and pollution from chicken waste.

At one point, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell scolded state attorney Robert Nance for his lack of preparation, noting that the case was more than four years old.

"I haven't had time to do your legal research for you, Mr. Nance," Frizzell boomed.

The poultry companies weren't immune to Frizzell's short temper, either.

Tom Green, an attorney for Tyson Foods Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, stood at the defendants' table to rattle off a series of objections while the state's witness was testifying.

Frizzell, who acknowledged on Tuesday Green's "imposing presence" because of his stature in the legal community, had to motion with his hands for Green to sit down.

Oklahoma is suing industry giants Tyson, Cargill Inc. and nine other companies over chicken waste pollution in the Illinois River watershed on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.

For decades, farmers took poultry litter -- or the droppings, feathers and bedding -- from their chicken houses and used it as a cheap fertilizer to grow other crops.

The state argues that runoff from the fields contains harmful bacteria that threatens the health of the tens of thousands of people who raft and fish in the watershed each year.

The other defendants named in the lawsuit are Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cargill Turkey Production L.L.C., George's Inc., George's Farms Inc., Peterson Farms Inc. and Simmons Foods Inc.

Buzz up!