State v. Ward

438 P.3d 588 (2019)

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Legal Analysis

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Nature Of The Case

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Facts

Kinder Morgan transports tar sands oil from Canada into the United States by pipeline. Kinder Morgan transports tar sands oil from Canada into the United States by pipeline. On October 11, 2016, Kinder Morgan was notified by telephone that persons “would be closing a valve, one of our main line valves in the Mount Vernon area within the next 15 minutes.” D cut off a padlock and entered the pipeline facility and then closed a valve. At the same time, other protesters closed similar valves in North Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Collectively, the protests temporarily stopped the flow of Canadian tar sands oil from entering the United States. D was arrested and charged with burglary in the second degree, criminal sabotage, and criminal trespass in the second degree. D claimed a defense of necessity. The trial court granted P's pretrial motion in limine to preclude all witnesses and evidence offered in support of D's necessity defense. D's first trial ended with a hung jury. P recharged D with burglary in the second degree and criminal sabotage. D moved for reconsideration of the trial court's order granting the State's motion in limine. D offered argument, the curriculum vitae for eight proposed expert witnesses, and voluminous scientific evidence documenting the impacts of climate change, that climate change is primarily caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activity, and the contribution of burning tar sands oil. The trial court denied D's motion for reconsideration and excluded all testimony and evidence. A second jury found D guilty of burglary but was unable to return a verdict on criminal sabotage. D appealed. D claims he was denied his constitutional right to present a defense

Issues

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Holding & Decision

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