With a federal court decision issued in May 2025, Sidley helped secure a successful outcome for a decorated U.S. Navy sailor who had faced six felony counts for tampering with emissions controls systems in diesel trucks in alleged violation of the Clean Air Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency brought the case in November 2022 under a novel and untested charging theory in which it sought to impose criminal liability for conduct that historically had been charged as a civil infraction. The successful outcome followed robust negotiations and motions practice, during which a federal court determined that law enforcement officials violated the client’s Miranda rights during a search and interview at his home.
The client recently agreed to plead guilty to a one-count misdemeanor and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, three months of home confinement without location monitoring, and a US$88,514 fine. The plea agreement allowed the client to retire under honorable conditions from the U.S. Navy and retain full benefits after 20 years of honorable service.
The Sidley team representing the U.S. Navy sailor was led by Justin Savage and Frank Volpe and included Gordon Todd, Marisa West, Rose Quam-Wickham, and Riley Desper along with Aaron Flyer, Cody Reaves, and Sydney Volanski (who are now Sidley alumni).
