The U.S. government has officially filed a civil suit against Volkswagen for violating the Clean Air Act; the latest step in a saga that has taken several months to unravel and appears to look worse for the car manufacturer at each turn.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), acting on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has made allegations against the German automaker that mostly stem from the discovery that some of Volkswagen’s cars had “defeat devices” installed. Essentially a defeat device would kick in during an emissions test, to make it appear as though the cars were running at standards that were in accordance with the Clean Air Act. However, when the cars were out on the road, their emissions were significantly higher–in some cases up to 40 times greater than the federal standards allow. The DOJ is alleging that about 500,000 of those were sold in the United States. Volkswagen admitted in September that it was aware of the implications of these devices, and is currently negotiating with American regulators on how to conduct a recall of the affected cars.

The federal civil suit against Volkswagen doesn’t preclude the DOJ from filing criminal charges against the company as well. But given the higher burden of proof needed to prosecute a criminal case, it makes some sense that the civil suit has come first.

Assistant Attorney General John Cruden of the environment and natural resources division at the Justice Department explained the motivations for the lawsuit in a statement released by the DOJ:

Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors. The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation’s clean air laws alleged in the complaint.

The DOJ also outlined the public health danger that could come from Volkswagen’s deception, warning that it could cause nitrogen pollution, and stating:

NOx pollution contributes to harmful ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. These pollutants are linked with asthma and other serious respiratory illnesses. Exposure to ozone and particulate matter is also associated with premature death due to respiratory-related or cardiovascular-related effects. Children, the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory disease are particularly at risk of health effects from exposure to these pollutants.

Volkswagen will have a hard road ahead when it comes to fighting off this civil suit. Given that it could end with the company paying billions in fines, it’s certainly one to watch.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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There’s a big, often unrecognized problem for our nation’s poor. Many do not have access to the legal resources they need to complete processes like divorce or custody battles. Legal help is extremely expensive, and unlike in criminal cases, anyone who is a party to a lawsuit is not automatically granted an attorney. So, Washington is trying to help with that, by introducing a Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLT) rule.

The LLLT program will allow candidates to take a year-long series of courses at community and state schools. Those classes particularly focus on things like legal research, civil procedure, and contracts. Then they’ll complete a sort of apprenticeship with a practicing attorney. After those steps are completed, the students can become licensed to advise on certain aspects of law, particularly family law issues. Right now, the Washington LLLT program focuses on family law, but if successful, it could probably end up being expanded. The biggest new power granted to these LLLTs is the ability to give legal advice, which is currently prohibited for paralegals or legal assistants.

As Steve Crossman, who heads up the LLLT board, stated:

One of the unique things about this is they can practice on their own; (unlike paralegals) they don’t need to practice under the supervision of lawyers. They can practice in conjunction with practicing lawyers so they work out of the same office. We’re thinking they also could work for a government-funded or volunteer legal-services agency.

The program has its beginnings in 2012, when the Washington Supreme Court adopted a rule allowing LLLTs. Since then, the program has been developed and refined a few times, and the first class of future LLLTs began in 2014.

Overall, the LLLT program is focused on cost on a few different levels. First of all, the program is much cheaper for students. It’s no secret that law degrees are incredibly expensive. In 2013, private law schools cost an average of nearly $42,000 a year, public law schools for residents cost nearly $25,000, and public law schools for non-residents cost almost $37,000. In comparison, an LLLT program costs only about $10,000.

These lower costs will translate to the clients. An extensive 2009 study from the Legal Services Corporation showed that somewhere between 80-90 percent of low-income Americans don’t have access to legal aid for their civil legal issues. The cost is pretty prohibitive, and because law school is so expensive, new lawyers can’t always lower their prices to provide low-cost aid. Empowering LLLTs will allow low-cost services. While there are legal aid programs, many are underfunded and understaffed.

Some have been comparing the work of LLLTs to nurse practitioners, or other medical professionals who aren’t doctors but can still perform some medical services. Given that the first group of LLLTs began classes last year, some will be ready to work as early as this Spring.

This is an innovative program that may solve a lot of problems, both for aspiring legal professionals and those who require legal help. If it’s successful, hopefully other states will create similar programs.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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On Monday night the highly anticipated case of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson reached its conclusion. The grand jury found that it did not have sufficient evidence to indict Wilson. In light of this controversial result, there has been speculation as to whether Brown’s family will bring a civil lawsuit against Wilson and the Ferguson Police Department.

The Brown family would have to show that Wilson intentionally or negligently killed Brown. The family could sue Wilson and city officials for economic damages, such as lost future income and funeral expenses, as well as punitive damages.

Although there were no criminal charges brought against Wilson, Brown’s family might have a better chance at succeeding in a civil lawsuit due to the lower burden of proof. In criminal court, a case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to validate a criminal conviction. In other words, there must be no reasonable doubt in the minds of reasonable persons that the defendant is guilty. Contrastingly, in a civil lawsuit the standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence. In this case, the Brown family would have to show that Wilson was more likely liable than not.

In the past, there have been cases similar to this, where a plaintiff’s family was successful in such suits. Most notably was the wrongful death lawsuit against former athlete O.J. Simpson. Although a jury acquitted Simpson of murder, a civil jury found him liable for wrongful death of his former wife and her friend and ordered Simpson to pay $33.5 million in damages to their families.

Although the aftermath of the criminal case is still being felt all over the country, it will be interesting to see how the civil lawsuit plays out once things settle down.

Melissa Klafter

Melissa Klafter has a JD from St. John’s University School of Law and plans to pursue a career in Personal Injury Law. You can find her binge-watching her favorite TV shows, rooting for the Wisconsin Badgers, and playing with her kitty, Phoebe. Contact Melissa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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There’s a chance that we may see a familiar name in the news cycle in coming weeks. A woman named Zenaida Gonzalez is suing the now infamous Casey Anthony for defamation. During the 2008 investigation of the disappearance of Caylee Anthony, Casey Anthony’s two-year-old daughter, Anthony made a number of false statements about what exactly had happened to her child. One of these statements was the allegation that a nanny by the name of Zenaida “Zanny” Fernandez-Gonzalez had stolen her child while working for Anthony.

It was later determined that no nanny by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez ever worked for Anthony. During the 2011 murder trial, Zenaida Gonzalez herself testified that she had never even met or heard of Casey or Caylee Anthony. She also claimed that she had been having problems finding employment since Anthony’s false allegations hit the media. Anthony’s mother Cindy Anthony claimed that the wrong Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez had been found and asked to testify, but given the relative obscurity of the name as well as a complete lack of evidence to prove that Anthony had ever hired someone by that name, her statements were not taken seriously.

Anthony was acquitted of murder, manslaughter, and child abuse on July 5, 2011, but was found guilty of giving false statements to the police. Now Gonzalez is suing Anthony for the false statements that accused her of kidnapping a toddler she had never even met. Anthony is slated to be deposed by Gonzalez’s attorneys from the Orlando based firm Morgan & Morgan on Wednesday October 9^th. This deposition will be public.

Anthony’s attorneys have attempted to block this deposition on two grounds claiming first that they were not properly given notice to prepare and second that Gonzalez’s claims lack merit. Early last week, her attorneys filed documents asking that a judge grant a protective order so that Anthony will not have to answer questions under oath. They have also moved one step further, arguing that if she must testify, she should be able to answer questions remotely, and that the deposition should be sealed from the public.

If Anthony is forced to testify, she may have to answer questions about the disappearance of her daughter Caylee—Gonzalez’s attorneys are claiming that Anthony cannot plead the fifth to avoid incriminating herself in this case. This would be the first time that Anthony is forced to answer questions under oath.

This civil suit, or one of the other civil suits that Anthony is facing, could provide answers to questions that have never been fully answered since the disappearance of Caylee Anthony transfixed the world. Anthony is also being sued by Roy Kronk, the man who found Caylee’s body. Anthony accused him of being involved in her daughter’s death immediately after his gruesome discovery. In addition she is being sued by a non-profit called Texas Equusearch that spent resources searching for her daughter after, they claim, Anthony already knew Caylee was dead.

The situation at hand is in some ways eerily reminiscent of the 1997 OJ Simpson civil case. After Simpson was found not guilty in 1995 for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, the families of the deceased sued him for damages and won. Certain testimony made by Simpson during his criminal trial was proved to be incorrect. While this is obviously a slightly different situation, the ability of Zenaida Gonzalez and others to compel Casey Anthony to testify in a separate civil trial may give those who knew Caylee closure, much as OJ Simpson’s case gave some closure to Brown and Goldmans’ families.

[Tampa CBS Local]

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Featured image courtesy of [FL Gov’t PD via Wikipedia]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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