She will be at the Superbowl

The U.S. District Court Judge, Carl Barbier, has been appointed to a trial regarding BP’s 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  He has moved its start date from Jan. 14th to Feb. 25th in an effort to  decrease distraction from Mardi Gras and the Superbowl.  The trial’s main purpose is to uncover why the tragedy happened and to determine who is at fault.  New Orleans, which has taken the brunt of the BP spill’s effects, has been invested in restoring the average citizen’s quality of life since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.  Though BP is expected to pay close to $8 billion in resolving the claims filed in this case, it is not hard to imagine that the tone of the trial itself could bring down the community.

Superbowl (Feb. 3) and Mardi Gras (Feb. 12) festivities, however, often draw tourists from around the world and can begin weeks prior to each respective event.  The general public, especially those who have been directly affected by the oil spill, may not be fiercely focused on the issues at hand in the weeks leading up to February 12th.

I believe that Carl Barbier, the Judge who made the decision to move the start date of this trial, did so, with the law and the community’s best interest in mind.  This case involves an event that devastated New Orleans and will require significant time to be resolved.  The host city of the National Football League’s championship game expects the extravaganza to stimulate its economy and that of its surrounding area.  I think that the most good will be done by fiercely focusing on each event individually.