Duarte Trial Judge Blocks Key Expert Evidence: Says Would Hurt Federal Government’s Case

August 14, 2017 | Filed under Featured Articles | Posted by Lewis Perdue

Federal District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller has refused to admit testimony of two expert witnesses whose evidence indicates that the wetlands that John Duarte is accused of harming were, in fact, not harmed. The reports also assert that the government’s experts erred in fundamental ways.

According to Mueller’s written opinion (premium link), published Friday, Aug. 11, Duarte’s expert reports:

“[I]f accepted, could significantly alter the calculation of civil penalties because the effects of Duarte’s CWA violation could drastically differ from those indicated in documents filed before the discovery cutoff.”

Regardless of the importance of the new data, Mueller wrote that the delay,

“would lead to significant cost, prevent an efficient resolution now that the issues are framed and frustrate the court’s ability to manage its docket in this long-running case.”

Also In This Article:

The full text of the following sections and document links are available to premium subscribers of Wine Executive News. Premium Subscribers should scroll down to the bottom of this article for their log-in links.

Penalty Phase Begins Tuesday
New Expert Reports Needed Rain. Drought Delayed Delivery By 2015 Deadline
Corps Expert Reports Had Fundamental Errors
New evidence unfair to the Corps of Engineers — Judge

Full documents, expert reports and court documents Available to Wine Executive News Premium Subscribers

Expert witness reports (begin page 6 of this document)
Judge opinion blocking admission of key expert witness evidence
Corps of Engineers Deep Ripping Regulation
Declaration Lyndon Lee 102715
Department of Justice Expert Team Report-080715
Direct Expert Testimony of Lyndon Lee filed 080417
Expert Document-87-3-Filed080715
U.S. Expert Disclosures and Designations
Second Supplemental Report of Diane S. Moore

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