UM Grace Case

Wednesday morning, the prosecution packaged its entire case into three hours for the jury, connecting specific evidence with each of the eight counts against W.R. Grace and the remaining three defendants. Government attorney Kris McLean covered the conspiracy count, followed by attorney Kevin Cassidy outlining the remaining counts of knowing endangerment and obstruction of [...]

 Defense attorney David Bernick concluded the defense case by calling the EPA’s Libby On-Site Coordinator, Paul Peronard, back to the stand. Bernick and Peronard sparred for over an hour, with Bernick asking questions regarding EPA Region 8’s role within the larger agency.
Bernick showed Peronard several letters and memoranda to, from, and between EPA employees and [...]

Defense counsel for W.R. Grace said they have no further witnesses Thursday afternoon after finishing up an hour and a half direct of EPA on-site coordinator, Paul Peronard.
Molloy will instruct the jury first thing in the morning, and the jury will begin to deliberate by tomorrow,  Molloy said.
“Life’s a circle,” defense attorney David Bernick told  [...]

The four remaining lead defense attorneys claimed to have rested their case Tuesday morning, but their stipulations prompted Judge Donald Molloy to recess the jury for a brief hearing. When the jury came back into the courtroom, Molloy said the case could go before them Wednesday.
After resting its case, the defense moved to admit [...]

 With the jury out of the room and all attention focused on the defense, attorneys David Bernick and Thomas Frongillo argued that government behavior over the course of the trial rises to the level of “outrageous prosecutorial misconduct,” and that all charges in the case should be dismissed.
“This trial is a dark bloom … a [...]

Judge Molloy started the morning by informing the court that a UM journalism student had apparently tried to contact one or more of the jurors.  Judge Molloy issued a stern warning that a second offense would be not be treated leniently, and the student would be getting a visit from a U.S. Marshal. When [...]

  Mr. Frongillo, representing Robert Bettacchi, finished up the cross-examination of Paul Peronard this morning with a flourish, and Mr. Cassidy began his redirect with that same topic: the millions of documents produced in response to the 104(e) request the EPA made to Grace.
In a line of questioning that appears to relate to the conspiracy [...]

Direct examination of EPA on-site supervisor Paul Peronard concluded today, followed immediately by the beginning of what promises to be an emotionally charged, and very interesting, cross examination.
As he finished his direct examination testimony, Peronard identified (and testified regarding) several documents received during the time the EPA has been in Libby. These documents, mostly from [...]

 The government produced evidence through Paul Peronard’s testimony today to support the conspiracy charge in Count I, and the obstruction of justice charges in Counts V and VI. While not necessarily explicit, the government’s themes were the ways W.R. Grace & Co. impeded and obstructed justice.
The prosecution first offered Goverment’s Exhibit 714, a map littered [...]

After a brief recess, the prosecution resumed its direct examination of Paul Peronard on Wednesday. Through several exhibits provided at trial (some of which were admitted into evidence, and some that weren’t), the U.S. tried to show that Grace knowingly endangered the people who bought former Grace property contaminated with asbestos fibers. Through the testimony [...]