Supreme Court refuses appeal by lawyer jailed for contempt in .5 billion Chevron environmental case

Supreme Court refuses appeal by lawyer jailed for contempt in $9.5 billion Chevron environmental case

Published

2 years ago

March 27, 2023

admin

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider the appeal of a disbarred lawyer jailed for contempt of court after he won a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador.

The attorney, Steven Donziger, was sentenced to six months in jail for failing to comply with a judge’s order to surrender all of his electronic devices.

He had asked the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing that a federal district court judge overstepped his legal authority in appointing three lawyers as special prosecutors to handle Donziger’s contempt trial after the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan declined to prosecute him.

Two conservative justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented from the decision, saying they would have the Supreme Court accept the appeal by Donziger.

Gorsuch, in his blunt written dissent, suggested that the appointment of special prosecutors by the judge violated the Constitution’s separation of powers of branches of government, which gives the executive branch the power to file criminal cases, and the judiciary the power to interpret the laws.

“In this country, judges have no more power to initiate a prosecution of those who come before them than prosecutors have to sit in judgment of those they charge,” Gorsuch wrote.

“Our Constitution does not tolerate what happened here,” he added.

The other justices who voted to deny Donziger a hearing of his appeal did not explain their decision in writing, as is customary.

Ron Kuby, a lawyer for Donziger, told CNBC, “I was pleased to see that at least two justices of the United States Supreme Court found the Donziger prosecution was a constitutional abomination and should not be repeated.”

A Chevron spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case stems from a lawsuit alleging decades of pollution of the South American Amazon region’s rain forests and rivers by Texaco, a corporate predecessor to Chevron.

A group of Ecuadorians represented by Donziger filed a class-action suit against Chevron in Manhattan federal court in 1993.

“At the company’s insistence, the court transferred the litigation to Ecuador,” Gorsuch wrote in his five-page dissent.

“Later, Chevron came to regret that move,” Gorsuch noted.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were awarded $9.5 billion from Chevron by a judge in Ecuador.

Chevron then filed a legal action in Manhattan federal court and won an injunction against the enforcement of the judgment in any U.S. court.

The company also obtained a so-called constructive trust on all assets Donziger had received as a result of the judgment in Ecuador.

Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan in a nearly 500-page ruling in 2014 wrote that Donziger and Ecuadorian lawyers “corrupted” the lawsuit in Ecuador.

Kaplan said the lawyers had, among other things, submitted fraudulent evidence, coerced a judge to use a supposedly impartial expert whose report was ghost-written by a Colorado consulting firm Donziger paid, and then promised $500,000 “to the Ecuadorian judge to rule in their favor and sign their judgment.”

To enforce the hold that Kaplan had placed on assets Donziger received in connection with the Ecuador judgment, he ordered Donziger to surrender all of his electronic devices so they could be imaged.

After Donziger failed to fully comply with that order, Kaplan held him in criminal contempt of court and referred that case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which normally prosecutes such matters.

However, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney declined to take the case.

Kaplan then appointed three lawyers as special prosecutors. Donziger then was tried, convicted and sentenced to jail.

Donziger had objected to Kaplan’s actions, arguing that a judge had no right to override a federal prosecutor’s discretion in deciding not to prosecute a case.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld his conviction.

In his dissent Monday, Gorsuch noted that the Supreme Court in the late 1980s “approved the use of court-appointed prosecutors as a ‘last resort’ in certain criminal contempt cases.”

“But that decision has met with considerable criticism,” Gorsuch added. “As Members of this Court have put it, the Constitution gives courts the power to ‘serve as a neutral adjudicator in a criminal case,’ not ‘the power to prosecute crimes.'”

In the Chevron case, Gorsuch wrote, “However much the district court may have thought Mr. Donziger warranted punishment, the prosecution in this case broke a basic constitutional promise essential to our
liberty.”

Environment

Europe’s wind power hits 20%, but 3 challenges stall progress

Published

6 hours ago

January 10, 2025

admin

Europe’s wind power hits 20%, but 3 challenges stall progress

Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.

To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.

Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back

Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:

Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.

Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.

Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.

Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”

Permitting: Germany sets the standard

Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.

If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.

Grid connections: a growing crisis

Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.

This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.

Electrification: falling behind

Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.

More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist

On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.

Investments and corporate interest

Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.

Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.

If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Podcast: New Tesla Model Y unveil, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, more

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2025

admin

Podcast: New Tesla Model Y unveil, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

[embedded content]

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

BYD’s new Han L EV just leaked in China and it’s a monster

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2025

admin

BYD's new Han L EV just leaked in China and it's a monster

The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.

What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far

We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.

BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.

The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.

BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.

To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).

BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.

At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).

Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.

Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.