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The article focuses on the criminalization of negligence under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the U.S. It cites a case involving container ship M/V Cosco Busan which leaked heavy fuel oil into the San Francisco/Oakland Bay in California following an allision accident. It examines several provisions under CWA that allow the prosecution of negligence on the part of the San Francisco Bar pilot and the ship operator. It stresses that the criminalization of environmental negligence brings tension to the civil and criminal liability constructs.

The article discusses the court case Ali A. v. Los Angeles Unified School District in California, wherein the plaintiff alleged that he was sexually assaulted by a teacher's aide and that the school district is liable to the incident. It provides an overview of the incident and the negligence claim of the plaintiff, who is a student with severe Down's Syndrome. The Court of Appeals of California upheld the decision of the trial court to grant motion for summary judgment to the school board.

The article reports on the opposition by federal prosecutors to a bid by lawyers for John Cota, the pilot of the MV Cosco Busan, to drop the criminal charges of negligence filed against him in regard to a mishap that spilled bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay, California in November 2007. The prosecutors raised their arguments in response to the petition filed by Cota's lawyers. In the new documents filed by the lawyers, they disagreed with the false statement charges against their client.

Reports that a California woman has been charged with a criminal misdemeanor for contributing to the death of her baby boy by failing to follow her doctor's advice before the infant's birth. Details of the case; Legal precedents; Policy implications on family law and the justice system.

Reports on a California Second District Court of Appeals ruling on the liability of an automobile club for the death of a teenager who was killed by a drunk driver while waiting on the side of the road for the club's lost tow truck. Summary of the lower court ruling which was reversed by the appellate court; Application of the general rule requiring the use of ordinary care to prevent causing injuries to others.