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A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
FEATURED
April 15, 2025
A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
By: James Trusty
The Attorney General’s recent announcement that DOJ will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione raises a host of interesting legal and philosophical issues, and it almost certainly reflects a dramatic about-face from the Biden administration’s approach towards federal prosecutions for death-eligible offenses. Aside from having personally prosecuted three death penalty trials while I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland and when I was Chief of the DOJ Organized Crime and Gang Section, I spent a number of years on the Attorney General’s Capital Review Committee (“CRC”). The Committee was comprised of a number of “grey heads” who had personally handled death penalty cases and who developed a solid working knowledge of the intricate field of capital litigation. Ultimately,…
Trouble in Paradise: White Lotus Character’s Legal Woes Illustrate Civil Forfeiture’s Overreach
April 14, 2025
Trouble in Paradise: White Lotus Character’s Legal Woes Illustrate Civil Forfeiture’s Overreach
By: Abbey Block
Last Sunday, millions of viewers tuned in to watch the season finale of White Lotus – a widely popular show that centers around the week-long vacation of several ultra-wealthy patrons of the fictional “White Lotus” resort in Thailand.[1] The show follows a dynamic cast of quirky characters as they navigate their opulent getaway. One of those characters in this most recent season was Timothy Ratliff…
Amending Arbitration Clauses – No Notice, Big Problem?
April 8, 2025
Amending Arbitration Clauses – No Notice, Big Problem?
By: Robert Ward
Many websites’ terms and conditions allow online service providers to make changes without providing prior notice to users. Often, the terms state that the user agrees to read the terms and conditions, and that continued use of the website constitutes acceptance of any modification. A recent Fourth Circuit decision highlights the potential risk that such unilateral change-in-terms provisions might pose to another common feature of…
Congress Passes the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
March 26, 2018
Congress Passes the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
As of March 21, 2018, both chambers of Congress have approved H.R. 1865—the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA). In a rare show of bipartisanship, both Houses approved the bill with veto-proof majorities—the House by a vote of 388 to 25 and the Senate by a vote of 97 to 2. But some free-speech advocates, internet-law experts, and…
SEC’s Updated Cybersecurity Disclosure Guidelines Leave Questions Unanswered
March 2, 2018
SEC’s Updated Cybersecurity Disclosure Guidelines Leave Questions Unanswered
By: Ifrah Law
As previewed in our previous post, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously approved new cybersecurity interpretive guidance—a format used to clarify the SEC’s views on security laws and regulations—on Wednesday of last week. The guidelines make no mention of how they affect and interplay with other regulators’ data privacy requirements, so whether compliance with these guidelines absolves companies of liabilities is a…
If ICOs are Securities: What Cryptocurrency Issuers, Exchanges and Gatekeepers Need to Know.
March 1, 2018
If ICOs are Securities: What Cryptocurrency Issuers, Exchanges and Gatekeepers Need to Know.
By: Jeff Ifrah
As predicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken additional steps to clamp down on the exploding ICO market: yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported the agency had issued “dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisors.” After repeated warnings from regulators like SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, the SEC is now sending its message loud and clear: every ICO involves the sale…
Employer Liability for Data Breaches: Avoid Getting Eaten By Your Own
January 31, 2018
Employer Liability for Data Breaches: Avoid Getting Eaten By Your Own
By: Nicole Kardell
When a company suffers a data breach, it is hit with a barrage of issues. For instance, How can it safeguard against another breach? Who should it notify of the breach and when (Authorities? The people whose data was compromised?)? What type of measures should it undertake to minimize possible damage to those whose data was compromised? How can it guard its reputation and brand?…
Speed Bump or Dead End? The 2018 Retrial Prospects for Sen. Menendez
January 8, 2018
Speed Bump or Dead End? The 2018 Retrial Prospects for Sen. Menendez
By: James Trusty
This holiday season was undoubtedly festive for Senator Bob Menendez, whose corruption trial ended with a deadlocked jury in mid-November. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to announce whether it will elect to re-try the New Jersey senator, but here are some of the factors they will, and will not, consider in making that decision: The Split In many jury deadlock situations, the judge,…
