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U.S. v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corporation

United States Supreme Court

411 U.S. 655 (1973)

Facts

Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corporation (PICCO) (defendant) was prosecuted for violating waterway-pollution provisions of Section 13 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. § 407. In addition to raising other issues regarding the applicability of the statute, PICCO claimed that it had been affirmatively misled by the regulations promulgated by the responsible administrative agency to believe that its conduct was not criminal. The district court rejected this argument, and PICCO was convicted. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s holding that Section 13 did apply to PICCO’s conduct but reversed the conviction on multiple grounds, including that the responsible administrative agency had failed to set up a permit program for this type of conduct and also that the district court had erred in rejecting PICCO’s claim that it had been affirmatively misled by the regulations. The court of appeals therefore reversed PICCO’s conviction and remanded the case so that PICCO’s claim regarding its reliance on the misleading regulations could be presented. The prosecution (plaintiff) petitioned for certiorari, and the United States Supreme Court granted the request.

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Concurrence/Dissent (Burger, C.J.)

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