The EPA Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) February 15, 2024, report on EPA’s practices in collecting, retaining, and producing criminal discovery materials in environmental cases found that EPA’s special agents largely...more
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of its Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Environmental Crimes Task Force. This new task force will focus specifically on combating...more
Fue publicado el Comunicado No. 39 por parte de la Corte Constitucional de Colombia el 23 de noviembre de 2022. Anuncia la futura expedición de la Sentencia C-411 de 2022, la cual declara la inexequibilidad de los delitos de...more
On September 9, 2015, then U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates issued a memo, “Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing,” that sent shivers down the spines of those in the workplace safety community....more
Attorney General Merrick Garland recently delivered remarks to the ABA Institute on White Collar Crime, reinforcing previous commitments by top DOJ officials to an increased emphasis on prosecuting corporations and...more
On March 3, 2022, at the 37th Annual American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section National Institute on White Collar Crime in San Francisco, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized that “the prosecution of...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training publishes an Environmental Case Crimes Bulletin (“Bulletin”) that summarizes publicized investigative activity...more
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (“ENRD”) of the United States Department of Justice released on April 30th its “Accomplishments Report” (“Report”) for 2017. ENRD describes the Report as highlighting its...more
At last week’s IBA War and Justice Conference, ICC judge Howard Morrison said that international criminal law must develop to accommodate the changing nature of atrocities and the changing nature of conflict. ...more
A trilogy of recent federal and state enforcement actions show just how far agencies will go to enforce environmental regulations. Now may be a good time for a compliance audit....more
The 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals (“Court”) in a September 13th opinion considered whether “knowingly storing and disposing of hazardous waste without a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) permit” is...more
The headlines generated by the Volkswagen emissions scandal continue to amaze the environmental community and the general public, both here and abroad. The events are shocking in part because they involve a household name in...more
Recently, John C. Cruden, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environmental and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), which oversees DOJ’s environmental litigation, voiced a heightened commitment to enforcing...more
Reporting that 13 workers in America die each day on the job due to injuries and 150 workers succumb to exposure to carcinogens and other toxic and hazardous substances while working, the United States Department of Justice...more
On September 15, 2015, we wrote an OSHA Bulletin that summarized a memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Yates. You can read the Bulletin here. On December 17, 2015, Yates issued another memorandum that will impact all...more
On December 17, 2015, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a memorandum to all 93 U.S. Attorneys urging federal prosecutors to work with the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resource Division (ENRD) to...more
Companies with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations may face criminal charges going beyond those allowed under the OSHA statute, under a new Worker Endangerment Initiative and Memorandum of...more
The US Department of Justice has issued a memorandum to all of its prosecuting Divisions, directing changes to the principles applied by DOJ in prosecuting civilly or criminally individuals who engage in corporate misconduct....more
Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s recent actions concerning the application of strict liability criminal offenses under Pennsylvania’s environmental laws present a new challenge for the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania....more