9th Circuit lifts ban on witnesses - W.R. Grace Trial Montana

A three judge appellate panel Friday overturned a ruling by the judge in the W.R. Grace trial,
who said 34 asbestos exposure victims on the federal prosecutors’ list of witnesses would
not be allowed in court except to testify.

In his Feb. 13 pretrial ruling, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said the 34 witnesses, identified by the federal government as victims of asbestos contamination, do not meet the meaning of “crime victim” in the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. He excluded them from court proceedings. Three appellate judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that general prohibition Friday and ordered Molloy to make “particularized findings with respect to each of the 34 victim-witnesses.” The order came in response to a petition by federal prosecutors seeking to overturn Molloy’s ruling. Grace and five former company officials are on trial for federal environmental crimes. The trial resumes Monday when Paul Peronard, the environmental Protection Agency’s on-scene coordinator in Libby, is expected to resume his testimony. Peronard testified Thursday that employees of W.R.

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Grace and Co. misled the government and obstructed efforts to clean up a mine site in Montana. Peronard testified that, by misleading the EPA about the scope of the contamination, the company delayed emergency response to homes and the general community, putting crews “in a big circle.”

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Trial was recessed Friday.
It is expected to take
three to five months.

For More on the WR Grace Case
Click the Trial UMT link below
http://blog.umt.edu/gracecase