The devil is in the details:
To reach the interstate from Bundy’s 160-acre ranch along the Virgin River, his cattle must cross miles of federal land for which the rancher holds no valid grazing permits. Twice since 1998 a federal judge has ordered Bundy to remove livestock from government range or risk having them impounded.
So when they say the cattle were ten miles from his ranch, they are referring to the postage stamp sized parcel that he actually owns. If you look at the "customary" aspect, the cattle were grazing on federal land, where he has been grazing them for many years. I don't know about Nevada, but after some kids were killed on a 4-lane divided state highway here a couple of years ago, the state repaired the fence that was put there to keep people and critters off the roadway. I suspect the court is going to have no choice other than to side with Bundy on this one. For the state to say, 'We built the road and we built the fence, but it's up to you to maintain it" is ridiculous.
If Bundy has a smart lawyer, he'll subpoene the state's deprtment of transportation records for the past ten years or so and scour them to see if the state has repaired any other bits of fence along the Interstate. If so ... their argument goes right out the window.
