The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of a lawyer jailed for contempt of court in connection with his representation of a group of people in Ecuador for their environmentally harmful suit against oil and gas giant Chevron.
U.S. Supreme Court Refused To Hear The Appeal Of A Lawyer Jailed For contempt For Court Chevron environmental Case (PHOTO: Trade Algo)
The Chevron Environmental Case
The Supreme Court refused Monday to allow 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 convicted to six months in jail for failing to comply with a judge’s order to surrender all of his electronic devices.
Donziger’s asked the Supreme Court to take the case, claiming 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, disagreed with the decision, saying they would have the Supreme Court take the appeal by Donziger. Gorsuch, in his frank written dissent, advised 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.
$9.5 Billion Plaintiffs Lawsuit From Chevron By A Judge In Ecuador
