Steven Donziger Convicted Of Criminal Contempt

Steven Donziger Convicted Of Criminal Contempt

Here are relevant excerpts (footnotes omitted) from the's 245-page-long decision by United States District Judge Loretta A. Preska, rendered earlier this week: "The events giving rise to this criminal contempt case mark the latest chapter in a sprawling legal saga—spanning multiple continents and over twenty-five years of fierce litigation— between Defendant Steven Donziger and Chevron Corporation CVX ("Chevron") regarding oil pollution in the Orient region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This case, however, is wholly unconcerned with the debate regarding any responsibility Chevron might bear for that pollution. Yet, this case is no less important to a society, like ours, that holds the rule of law among its cardinal virtues. Indeed, at stake here is the fundamental principle that a party to a legal action must abide by court orders or risk criminal sanctions, no matter how fervently he believes in the righteousness of his cause or how much he detests his adversary. "By order to show cause dated July 30, 2019 (the "Order to Show Cause"), Judge Lewis A. Kaplan charged Mr. Donziger with six counts of criminal contempt arising from Mr. Donziger's refusal to comply with multiple court orders in Chevron Corp. v. Donziger.... By repeatedly and willfully defying