Extended Degree Program
Lecture Notes

Approximate Time:

6 hours.

Key Points

When a violation order is not obeyed, applicable statutes generally authorize summary abatement of the condition, or criminal prosecution, or injunctive relief. A refusal to comply with an order of the Board of Health or from a public health officer is, under many statutes, itself a violation punishable by fine or imprisonment or less frequently a violation subject to civil penalty. To achieve a conviction for failure to obey a violation order it must commonly be shown that there was a statutory authority to issue the order, that the defendants had notice of the order, and that he failed to heed the same.

A. Criminal Sanctions

1. Misdemeanors: Misdemeanors are offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by a fine or by imprisonment (other than in a penitentiary). Under federal law, and most state laws, any offense other than a felony is classified as a misdemeanor.1

2. Felonies: A felony is defined as a crime of a graver or more serious nature than those designated as misdemeanors; e.g. aggravated assault (felony) as opposed to simple assault (misdemeanor). Under federal law, and many state statutes, any offense punishable by death or imprisonment exceeding one year is a felony.2

The readings for this lesson discuss the nature of the criminal actions and the require-ments for a successful prosecution.

B. Prosecution

The use of criminal sanctions, to coerce compliance with environmental health standards, relies on the deterrent force of the punishment (fine or imprisonment) involved. Its effec-tiveness is dependent upon: (1) the willingness of the appropriate prosecutor (county prosecutor, state attorney general, etc.) to file charges; and (2) upon the effect of the punishment in encouraging correction of the problem.

Once a case has been tried and a fine imposed and collected for the violation, that case is over. If the guilty party does not choose to abate the problem, the agency may not bring additional criminal actions based on the original complaint. However, most statutes and ordinances provide that each and every day of the existence of the unlawful condition constitutes a separate violation. Thus, the continuing refusal of a party to correct a situation could become a very expensive proposition. Nevertheless, if he/she chose to continue to pay the fine rather than correct the violation, the agency would have few recourses under criminal law.

The general steps involved in the criminal procedure are:

a. Filing Charges

1) On information
2) By indictment

b. Summons (Court notifies defendant of the charges and requires that he/she appear in the court at a specific time and date to answer them.)

c. Plea (The defendant enters a plea of guilty or not guilty)

d. Pre-trial Maneuvers

1) Discovery (depositions, subpoenaing records, etc.)
2) Negotiations/Plea bargaining

e. Trial

1) Prosecution

• Rules of Evidence
• Rules of Testimony

2) Defense (Same rules apply)

f. Appeals

As pointed out above, the criminal prosecution, itself, does not remove the condition which gave rise to the order. Hence, a civil proceeding to obtain a prohibitory or mandatory injunction is frequently authorized by statute and used by agencies when a criminal action is ineffective or inappropriate. The nature of this injunction process will be discussed in the next lesson.

Progress Assessment Exercise

Download the following Microsoft Word file and answer the questions. Your responses should be brief, yet contain sufficient depth to demonstrate your understanding of the issues and/or concepts involved. All progress assessment exercises should be typewritten, well organized and clearly presented. You will be evaluated on the effectiveness and organization of your responses as well as on the substance of the content. When you have finished, email your answers to the instructor. You may also send them by US mail to:

Mr. Charles D. Treser
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
University of Washington
Campus Box 357234
Seattle, WA 98195-7234

Exercise No. 12

When you have finished you may proceed to Lesson 13 JudicialRemedies - Civil Actions