Environmental Law

Lawyer is charged after shooting injured raccoon near courthouse

A Pennsylvania lawyer has been charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct for shooting an injured raccoon near the Luzerne County Courthouse last month.

Jun 27, 2019 11:26 AM CDT

All charges dropped in Flint water case with promise of continuing investigation

Prosecutors in Michigan have dropped all pending criminal charges against officials accused in connection with the leaching of lead into the water supply in Flint. Prosecutors said they dropped the charges against eight defendants because of problems with the investigation under the previous attorney general, Bill Schuette, report the Detroit…

Jun 14, 2019 10:26 AM CDT

Fracking companies lost on trespassing, but a court just gave them a different win

A week after the West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously upheld the property rights of landowners battling one natural gas giant, the same court tossed out a challenge filed by another group of landowners against a different natural gas company.

Jun 13, 2019 11:10 AM CDT

Suits accuse dairy company of consumer fraud for touting ‘extraordinary care and comfort’ of cows

Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Chicago accuse the Fairlife milk company of consumer fraud for promoting its “extraordinary care and comfort” of dairy cows. The would-be class actions, filed June 11 and June 12, cite mistreatment of cows at the company’s northwest Indiana dairy, Fair Oaks Farms, that…

Jun 13, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Judge orders transfer of gorilla from sanctuary to zoo; bacterial infection could aggravate trip

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered that Ndume the gorilla be transferred from a California sanctuary to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden this week amid a dispute over the advisability of travel. U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ordered the transfer of Ndume in two orders. In his…

Jun 11, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Are pets assets or part of the family?

California became the third state in the U.S. to adopt a law that allows judges to consider what’s in the best interests of the animal rather than treating the pet like other inanimate property, such as a car. Alaska and Illinois have passed similar laws since 2016. The new laws are groundbreaking because they come amid growing interest in protecting pets and settling disputes over them.

Jun 1, 2019 1:30 AM CDT

Ethics probe opened after lawyer posts video of raccoon falling from his boat into water

The Florida Bar has opened an ethics probe of a lawyer who posted a video to Facebook showing a frightened raccoon tumbling into the water from his boat.

May 20, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: What SCOTUS rulings are we still waiting for?

What’s most important to look for as the court hands down its remaining decisions over the next two months? Two themes are likely to be important: the approach to the administrative state and how much the Roberts Court cares about stare decisis.

May 2, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Straddling two identities as a lawyer and DACA recipient

Zain Sayed is an employment attorney in Illinois, one of only about 10 states that admit DACA recipients to the bar.

May 1, 2019 2:35 AM CDT

Lawsuit over killing of Idaho gray wolves can proceed, 9th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services for killing gray wolves in mountainous parts of Idaho without updating the potential impact under the National Environmental Policy Act. In its opinion, filed April 23, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at…

Apr 25, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Lawsuit claiming EPA negligence in Flint water crisis can move forward, judge says

A federal judge ruled last week that Flint, Michigan, residents can move forward with a lawsuit filed against the government over the city’s water crisis. The residents sued the Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly mishandling the crisis in 2017, and District Judge Linda Parker of the Eastern District of Michigan…

Apr 22, 2019 12:50 PM CDT

Man accused of abandoning pet fish is off the hook for animal cruelty, DA says

Prosecutors have dropped misdemeanor animal cruelty and abandonment charges against a North Carolina man accused of abandoning his pet fish when he was evicted from his Wilmington home. Charges were dropped because fish aren’t protected under the state’s animal cruelty law, according to New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David.…

Apr 11, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court rules for Alaska moose hunter, says he can ‘rev up his hovercraft’ again

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the National Park Service did not have the authority to ban use of hovercrafts on Alaska’s Nation River. The high court ruled on behalf of moose hunter John Sturgeon, who piloted his hovercraft across the river in a national preserve to reach his…

Mar 26, 2019 2:35 PM CDT

Judge blocks oil and gas drilling on Wyoming public land because US didn’t consider climate impact

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has blocked new oil and gas drilling on public land in Wyoming because the federal government failed to sufficiently consider the cumulative impact on climate change. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled in a March 19 opinion that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau…

Mar 21, 2019 9:19 AM CDT

Second federal judge blocks census citizenship question in a broader ruling than the first

A federal judge in San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction Wednesday to bar Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg is the second federal judge to block the question, report Courthouse News Service, the Washington Post and the Associated…

Mar 7, 2019 9:21 AM CST