Criminal Liability -- 2002



Hansen v. United States   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Knowledge requirement in RCRA

The NAM filed an amicus brief 2/28/02 urging the Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision on the "responsible corporate officer" doctrine. We opposed court expansion of the doctrine to eliminate a knowledge requirement in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) criminal and "knowing endangerment" cases. In this case, the owner of a chemical business, his son (who served as a temporary vice president) and a supervisor were all convicted of Clean Water Act and RCRA violations and sentenced to prison, on charges brought four years after the plant closed, based on an allegation that they "knowingly endangered" the health and safety of workers. The "responsible corporate officer" doctrine has allowed prosecutions without proof that company management had actual knowledge of regulatory violations. Cert. petition denied 6/3/02.