Hazelwood Can’t Claim Immunity in Oil Spill, Judge Rules
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ANCHORAGE — An Alaska judge today upheld state criminal charges against Joseph Hazelwood, skipper of the Exxon Valdez supertanker responsible for the nation’s worst oil spill.
Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone ruled at a pretrial hearing that the 43-year-old Hazelwood is not entitled to immunity under a federal law designed to protect those who report oil spills.
However, Johnstone has yet to rule on other defense motions to dismiss up to six felony and misdemeanor charges filed against the fired master of the 987-foot tanker that ran aground March 24 in Prince William Sound.
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