Posted on 05/04/2005 11:28:32 AM PDT by pookie18
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Lawyers selected a jury Monday that will decide whether Greenpeace and its contract ship were criminally negligent by failing to have the proper oil spill response paperwork during an anti-logging campaign.
The environmental activist group, the captain of the Arctic Sunrise and the ship's agent all are charged with misdemeanor criminal counts of operating a vessel without a spill contingency plan or proof of financial responsibility in case of a spill, as required by state law.
Opening statements were scheduled Tuesday in state District Court in the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan. Because the case involves misdemeanor charges, it will be heard by only six jurors and two alternates.
"We feel good about the jury and feel confident they'll listen to all the evidence and render a fair verdict based on the evidence presented in court,'' said Greenpeace attorney Tom Wetterer.
State environmental regulators cited Greenpeace Inc., Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorensen and ship agent Willem Beekman last July for not filing a spill response plan or having a financial responsibility certificate. According to court documents, the ship was carrying more than 70,000 gallons of "petroleum products'' when it arrived in southeast Alaska for the protest campaign against logging in the Tongass National Forest.
In Alaska, non-tank vessels larger than 400 gross tons must file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters.
The group contends the paperwork oversight was a mishap that was quickly corrected. Those on board didn't know such documents were required, Wetterer said.
"There was no criminal negligence here,'' he said.
Wetterer said the group is being unfairly targeted in retaliation for its anti-logging stance. The defendants contend that many other vessels have entered state waters without the same documents and never faced criminal prosecution.
"At the time of this incident, the ship was insured against oil spills and also had an international oil spill contingency plan in place,'' Wetterer said.
The state didn't pursue criminal charges against the group until the Arctic Sunrise departed from Ketchikan before the paperwork was finalized, despite an agreement to stay anchored, said Assistant Attorney General Jay Fayette.
The criminal negligence charges carry a maximum penalty of a $200,000 fine for an organization and a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual.
The trial is expected to wind up at the end of the week, said Fayette, who on Tuesday plans to call his first witnesses, including a radio reporter who interviewed Sorensen after the Arctic Sunrise left Ketchikan.
Some details also will come from documents such as the ship's itinerary that District Judge Kevin Miller agreed to allow as evidence Tuesday after 90 minutes of "boring and polite legal bantering'' between the two sides, Fayette said.
"My intent is to compress this so we can keep it to this week,'' he said.
ROFL!
Har! Har! Shiver me timbers!
You could certainly say so. Congress directed the Coast Guard to write tough new rules for handling or storing petroleum in US waters after the Exxon Valdez accident. I was in that trade at the time and recall Sierra Club testifying that the Coast Guard rules weren't tough enough.
God, I sincerely hope that this is a hanging offence in Alaska!
Another example of bad journalism. It needs a comma in there somewhere for it to make sense. Depending on where it is placed, it can be read two ways:
1) maximum penalty of a $200,000 fine for an organization and a year in prison, and a $10,000 fine for an individual, or
2) maximum penalty of a $200,000 fine for an organization, and a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual.
Personally, I prefer option #1. :-)
AP Stylebook ?
I remember one of those Greenpeace chicks trying to get me to join their group. She was wearing all those Greenpeace buttons and T-shirts, and had some flyers about the group. She wasn't exactly the most upkept person (though admittingly, neither was I at the time. :-P). As for crazy, well, my meeting with her wasn't long. I just politely said no, and she was on her way. Maybe she was one of the saner ones? Hehehe.
Ping
BTTT!!!!!
They are on the Seattle sidewalks a lot, trying to raise funds. Once there were two little twerps, a male (questionable) and a female (cute) and they asked me for a donation. I was in a particularly foul mood that day and told them that "commies are for killing, not funding", and walked away.
How you been bein? You still boppin all around North America???
Theres more:
Mid-1980s: Greenpeace Australia distributes film of two men mutilating live kangaroos as part of a campaign to ban 'roo products in Europe. Greenpeace only withdraws the film after a court convicts the men for breaking the law, and concludes that they were paid to do so by the film crew.
Mid-1990s: In 1996, video footage of a brutal dolphin slaughter is used in a campaign to raise money and generate public support for embargoes against Venezuela's two exports, oil and tunafish. As they market the video, various groups claim the film "proves" that 40,000 dolphins are killed annually in a country where dolphin kills are illegal. No proof exists except the film. When the uncut film footage is finally discovered, it becomes obvious that the film was staged. The filmmaking crew had represented themselves to the fishermen involved as scientists from the local university, saying they needed to kill a dolphin for research and that they would take total responsibility. "Act natural!" yells the cameraman to the fishermen. The filmmakers supply the knife used to inhumanely butcher the animal while they direct the action. "More blood! Get me more blood!" yells the cameraman.
Just saw your post about Greenpeace. Thanks for trying to shine a little light on the hypocracy. I live here in Alaska and have an update which seems to be getting about as much coverage as the last time (none). They were CONVICTED Yesterday! Woohoo!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1400816/posts
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