Pluto Loses Designation, Sues IAU In a move that surprised many legal observers, one of Pluto's leading public-interest groups yesterday sued the International Astronomical Union after the IAU declassified Pluto as one of the nine "classical" planets that circles the Sun. It is not yet known where venue for the case ultimately will be placed or precisely which judge eventually will hear the case. "The IAU isn't the end-all, be-all for the solar system," said a public relations spokesperson for Pluto, appearing on CNN's Larry King Show. "You can't just un-designate a planet without giving folks on the planet an opportunity for due process, and the right to be heard, and to challenge the facts upon which the decision is based." The complaint alleges that the IAU violated key provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, federal constitutional law, and certain Plutonian legal principles that are too complicated to set forth here. "We reject the downgrade from classical planet to 'dwarf planet'," the Plutonian flak told King. "We have a right to self-identity, to call ourselves whatever we want to call ourselves and not allow some pointy-headed scientists on Earth to label us. We feel confident that a jury on Earth or on Pluto or on any other planet will see through the IAU's discrimination and in the end give us celestial justice." Apparently, Pluto has contacted Mark Geragos to see if he will take the case. Quoted from: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/benchconference/2006/08/pluto_loses_designati...