Judges in the News: Judge William K. Sessions III, U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont
As global awareness of the potential effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on climate change grows, battle lines have been drawn in the United States between the federal government, which has declined to ratify the Kyoto protocol, and the states, many of which have made individual efforts to control GHG emitting activities within their borders. In December, the EPA denied a waiver sought by California and several other states that would allow those states to establish their own GHG standards for vehicles. California, joined by several other states and environmental organizations, has sued the EPA, challenging the denial.
Playing an important role in sorting out the legal issues that GHG emissions present is Judge William K. Sessions III of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. In Green Mt. Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Jeep v. Crombie, 508 F. Supp. 2d 295 (D. Vt. 2007), in which automobile dealers challenged Vermont’s GHG regulations, Judge Sessions ruled that the GHG standards established by Vermont were not preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, a decision that will surely figure in California’s challenge of the EPA’s waiver denial.
Excerpt from LexisNexis Judicial Profile: Judge William K. Sessions III:
Courtroom Preferences & Demeanor
Judge Sessions has been described as “a kind, intelligent, engaging man” who maintains a respectful and friendly courtroom. Further, “He was a defense counsel before becoming a judge, and perhaps as a result, sees through posturing (which he is not afraid to gently mock in the courtroom), and responds well when defense brings its arguments plainly and accurately. He sits on the sentencing commission, and is a real scholar of sentencing.”
Judge Sessions has posted his Jury Selection procedures here:
Information on the evidence presentation system available in Judge Sessions’ court is available here:
Local Rules for Judge Sessions’ district are available here:
Excerpt from Marten Law Group on Green Mt. Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Jeep v Crombie:
At issue in Green Mountain Chrysler, was the interplay between two federal statutes that regulate motor vehicles: the Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA). The central goal of the Clean Air Act is to “protect and enhance the quality of the Nation’s air resources.” To that end, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to develop standards for controlling pollutant emissions from new motor vehicles. Except under limited circumstances, the Clean Air Act explicitly exempts the states from adopting or enforcing motor vehicle emission standards. Because California enacted automobile emissions regulations several years before the federal government did, there is a limited exception from the general rule of federal preemption. Specifically, EPA may grant a preemption waiver for emission standards adopted by California so long as they are “in the aggregate, at least as protective of public health and welfare as [the] federal standards.” Other states may, in turn, adopt the California standards so long as they are adopted at least two years prior to the model year to which they will apply.
EPCA, on the other hand, is concerned with motor vehicle fuel efficiency standards. Under EPCA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) establishes fleet-wide average fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars and light trucks, known as corporate average fuel efficiency or “CAFE” standards. NHTSA considers the following factors when developing CAFE standards: (1) technological feasibility; (2) economic practicability; (3) the effect of other federal motor vehicle standards on fuel economy; and (4) the need of the nation to conserve energy. EPCA also explicitly preempts state regulations relating to average fuel economy standards applicable to automobiles covered by such federal standards.
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