Whether Austin “Jack” and Peter DeCoster can be jailed under Park Doctrine prosecutions — meaning where the government did not have to show they had any knowledge or intent, let alone negligence, regarding food safety infractions involving their businesses — will get a big test starting Monday in St. Louis. The opening briefs from the…
DeCosters Appeal Jail Sentences to 8th Circuit
The federal judge who sentenced Austin “Jack” and Peter DeCoster to each serve three months in federal confinement predicted that the two defendants would appeal, and they’ve now proven him correct. The prospect of serving three months at a federal prison camp located on a former college campus in Yankton, SD, or at a county…
Letter From the Editor: A Case Best Not Left to a Jury
In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Judge Mark W. Bennett’s courtroom is on the third floor of the federal building dedicated Dec. 29, 1933, and, at the time, called Uncle Sam’s gift to Sioux City. The building is said to be ”a skillful blend of the Stripped Classical and Art…
DeCosters Get Three Months in Jail, One Year of Probation
Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, were each sentenced Monday in a Sioux City, IA, federal courtroom to three months in jail and one year of supervised probation.
The sentences, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett, came in response to guilty pleas from the DeCosters and their Quality Egg…
Egg-Producing States File Appeal Over California’s Proposition 2
States that, until recently, sold a total of 2 billion shell eggs a year in California clearly don’t intend to give up on that lucrative Golden State market without a fight. After first getting tossed from federal court, they’ve now returned with bulked-up arguments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The…