United States v. Billy Joe Bagwell Cynthia Bagwell

WIGGINS, Circuit Judge:

OVERVIEW

Billy Joe Bagwell, defendant/appellant, appeals a district court order evicting him from public land and declaring his mining claim invalid. Bagwell argues that he is entitled to possess and reside on the public land under federal mining law. The United States, plaintiff/appellee, asserts that Bag-well’s mining claim is invalid due to bad faith and that Bagwell therefore has no right to reside on public land. Bagwell’s appeal was timely, and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988). We affirm the district court’s order.

BACKGROUND

Since 1972, Billy Joe…