Steven Donziger: podcast appearances and interviews

Steven Robert Donziger is an American former attorney recognized for his involvement in legal battles against Chevron. He notably represented over 30,000 farmers and Indigenous people in cases related to environmental damage and health problems caused by oil drilling in the Lago Agrio oil field of Ecuador. The Ecuadorian court awarded the plaintiffs a substantial sum in damages, which led Chevron to withdraw its assets from Ecuador and initiate legal action against Donziger in the United States. In 2011, Chevron filed a RICO suit in New York City, alleging misconduct in obtaining the Ecuadorian judgment. The case was heard by US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who ruled that the Ecuadorian court's decision could not be enforced in the US due to fraud, bribery, and racketeering activities associated with it. As a consequence, Donziger was disbarred from practicing law in New York in 2018. Subsequently, he faced criminal contempt charges related to his refusal to relinquish electronic devices during his appeal, resulting in house arrest and a prison sentence. Donziger was placed under house arrest in August 2019, and in July 2021, he was found guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced to six months in jail. During his legal struggles, many viewed the actions against him as judicial harassment and a SLAPP strategy. Various human rights organizations, Nobel laureates, and members of Congress called for his release, and the United Nations indicated his pre-trial detention was illegal. After spending time in prison and under house arrest, Donziger was released in April 2022. His criminal contempt conviction was affirmed by a federal appeals court in June 2022, and the Supreme Court declined to hear further appeals in March 2023.