Clean Water Act Conviction Reinstated
U.S. v. Ortiz 2005 WL 2858027(10th Cir. Nov. 01, 2005)
Trial court entered judgment of acquittal after jury conviction which found defendant violated the Clean Water Act by negligently discharging pollutants into the Colorado River, ruling as a matter of law that an individual is not guilty of negligently discharging a pollutant unless he knows that the pollutant's path terminates in protected water. 10th reversed: district court misinterpreted the law, and facts supported conviction. 10th also found that guideline enhancement for discharging without a permit applies even if factually impossible to obtain a permit for that kind of discharge activity, and reversed district court on this point too.
Trial court entered judgment of acquittal after jury conviction which found defendant violated the Clean Water Act by negligently discharging pollutants into the Colorado River, ruling as a matter of law that an individual is not guilty of negligently discharging a pollutant unless he knows that the pollutant's path terminates in protected water. 10th reversed: district court misinterpreted the law, and facts supported conviction. 10th also found that guideline enhancement for discharging without a permit applies even if factually impossible to obtain a permit for that kind of discharge activity, and reversed district court on this point too.
posted by Anonymous at 12:24 PM
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