United States v. Canal Barge Company, Inc.
Directed Verdict of Acquittal All Counts
Case number: 4:07 CR 00012 JHM Type of case: Environmental crime - Clean Water Act Jurisdiction: United States District Court Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro Date of trial: June 2008
Canal Barge and some of its deck hands were indicted for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act. The government offered proof in the case that Benzene which was being transported by a barge had leaked and that some of the Benzene had entered the Ohio River. The defendants were accused of failing to properly report the incident, among other offense. After a long and contentious trial in Owensboro, Kentucky, each of the individual defendants and the corporation were convicted of one felony crime. The Judge in the case had agreed to delay ruling on our motion to direct a judgment of acquittal until after the jury had returned its verdict.
After additional briefing following the jury's guilty verdict, the trial court agreed with our position, and directed a verdict of acquittal for all defendants including our corporate client, Canal Barge, Inc.
Our role: Michael R. Mazzoli, co-counsel on behalf of the corporate defendant, Canal Barge, Inc.
