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Statement of Independent Trial Monitors On Verdict in Greenpeace Trial — Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace Trial Monitoring Committee [1]

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Date: 2025-03

It is our collective assessment that the jury verdict against Greenpeace in North Dakota reflects a deeply flawed trial with multiple due process violations that denied Greenpeace the ability to present anything close to a full defense. Attorneys on our team monitored every minute of the proceedings and found multiple violations of due process that denied Greenpeace its right to a fair trial. The problems included a jury that was patently biased in favor of Energy Transfer, with many members working in the fossil fuel industry; a judge who lacked the requisite experience and legal knowledge to rule properly on the complex First Amendment and other evidentiary issues at the center of the case; and incendiary and prejudicial statements by lawyers for Energy Transfer that tried to criminalize Greenpeace and by extension the entire climate movement by attacking constitutionally-protected advocacy.

Our fear that this was an illegitimate corporate-funded SLAPP harassment case was confirmed by our observations. We will be issuing a full report documenting these violations and larger flaws in the case in the coming weeks.

While the trial court verdict is in, the case is far from over. Greenpeace has a right to appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court. Our committee will continue its work monitoring this critically important case that raises troubling concerns for all advocates in the country.

— Marty Garbus | Natali Segovia | Jeanne Mirer | Terry Collingsworth | Steven Donziger | Nadia Ahmad | Scott Wilson Badenoch, Jr. | Paul Paz y Miño | Ayisha Siddiqa | Wade McMullen | Kip Hale | Simon Taylor



Individual Statements from Trial Monitors:

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[1] Url: https://www.trialmonitors.org/statement-of-independent-trial-monitors-on-verdict-in-greenpeace-trial

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