Environment Prosecutions for February 2012
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during February 2012 the government reported 96 new environment prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 2% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with environment-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. (See Table 1)
When monthly 2012 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (110.2 percent). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 11.3 percent from levels reported in 2007.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in environment prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of environment prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of environment, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within environment are
Illegal Discharge of Toxic, Hazardous or Carcinogenic Waste
Wildlife Protection
Marine Resources
Environmental Crime
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in February 2012 was for "Environ-Wildlife Protection", accounting for 65.6 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Environ-Environmental Crimes" (30.2%), " Environ-Marine Resources" (4.2%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for environment prosecutions in February 2012 was Interior accounting for 79 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of environment referrals were: EPA (6% ), DHS (5%), Commerce (4%), Defense (4%). See Figure 3.
Environment Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In February 2012, 73 defendants in environment cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in February the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 16 U.S.C Section 703 involving the "Taking, killing, or possessing migratory birds". This was the lead charge for 68.5 percent of all magistrate filings in February.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "16 USC 3372 - Illegally Taken Fish & Wildlife - prohibited acts" (16.4%), "16 USC 718 - Protection of Migratory Game & Insectivorous Birds" (9.6%).
Environment Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In February 2012, 23 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during February there were an additional 2 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during February.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of environment matters filed in U.S. District Court during February 2012.
Lead Charge Count Rank 16 USC 3372 - Illegally Taken Fish & Wildlife - prohibited acts 5 1 More 07 USC 7712 - Regulation of movement plant/plant product/biological control organism 4 2 More 05 USC 552 - Violation of privacy act by a federal employee 2 3 More 16 USC 704 - When/how migratory birds may be taken, killed,poss 2 3 More 16 USC 742 - Illegal Wildlife Hunting 2 3 More 07 USC 136 - Environmental Pesticide Control - definitions 1 6 More 14 USC 88 - Coast Guard - Saving Life and Property 1 6 More 16 USC 703 - Taking, killing, or possessing migratory birds 1 6 More 18 USC 42 - Importation/shipment of animals 1 6 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 1 6 More 33 USC 1317 - Toxic and pretreatment effluent standards 1 6 More 33 USC 1319 - Water Pollution - Enforcement 1 6 More 33 USC 1908 - Prevention of Pollution from Ships - Penalties 1 6 More 42 USC 6928 - Hazardous Waste Management - Federal Enforcement 1 6 More 42 USC 7413 - Air Pollution Prevention and Control - Fed strd 1 6 More Table 2: Top charges filed
"Illegally Taken Fish & Wildlife - prohibited acts" (Title 16 U.S.C Section 3372) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Regulation of movement plant/plant product/biological control organism" under Title 7 U.S.C Section 7712.
Ranked 3rd were "Violation of privacy act by a federal employee" under Title 5 U.S.C Section 552, "When/how migratory birds may be taken, killed,poss" under Title 16 U.S.C Section 704 and "Illegal Wildlife Hunting" under Title 16 U.S.C Section 742.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In February 2012 the Justice Department said the government brought 9.8 environment prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of environment prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
The Southern District of Florida (Miami)—with 8 prosecutions—was the most active during February 2012.
The Central District of California (Los Angeles) and Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans) ranked 2nd.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new environment crime cases of this type during February 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Cohn, James I. Fla, S 4 1 More Walker, Susan Russ Ala, M 2 2 More Burns, Ellen Bree Conn 2 2 More Dimitrouleas, William P. Fla, S 2 2 More King, James Lawrence Fla, S 2 2 More Gritzner, James E. Iowa, S 2 2 More Duval, Stanwood R., Jr. La, E 2 2 More Granade, Callie V. Ala, S 1 8 More Gandhi, Jay C. Cal, C 1 8 More Vineyard, Russell G. Ga, N 1 8 More Vance, Sarah S. La, E 1 8 More Fleissig, Audrey Goldstein Mo, E 1 8 More Flanagan, Louise W. N Car, E 1 8 More Payson, Marian W. N. Y., W 1 8 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
All 14 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of environment filings . (Because of ties, there were a total of 14 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge James I. Cohn in the Southern District of Florida (Miami) ranked 1st with 4 defendants in environment cases.
Judges Susan Russ Walker in the Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery), Ellen Bree Burns in the District of Connecticut, William P. Dimitrouleas in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), James Lawrence King in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), James E . Gritzner in the Southern District of Iowa (Des Moines) and Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. in the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans) ranked 2nd with 2 defendants in environment cases.
Report Generated: May 8, 2012
