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Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury
FEATURED
July 5, 2024
Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury
By: James Trusty
The immediate and eventual impact of the Supreme Court’s immunity decision in Trump v. United States is both considerable and dramatically misrepresented. The initial consequences include likely delay to the January 6 prosecution out of D.C. and the setting of hearings—in D.C., Georgia and south Florida—where the judges will be required to make factual findings as to whether the evidence supporting the indictments reflect “official acts” of a president, “unofficial acts” of a personal nature, or “official acts” relating to the president’s core constitutional responsibilities. In D.C., Judge Chutkan sided with Special Counsel Jack Smith in pushing for a comparatively expedited trial date based upon a nebulous “speedy trial” right of the public to see a leading presidential candidate tried…
The Challenging Terrain of White-Collar Sentencing
June 3, 2024
The Challenging Terrain of White-Collar Sentencing
By: James Trusty
Federal judges are required to balance a number of factors whenever imposing sentence, including specifically enumerated areas that largely stem from the broader philosophical categories of General Deterrence, Specific Deterrence, Retribution/Punishment, Restitution and Victim Impact, and Rehabilitation. In determining the presumptively reasonable range of potential sentences, federal practitioners consult their always-handy U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which create a sentencing range grid based upon the offense characteristics…
Punishing the Parent – Should the Parents of a School Shooter Be Criminally Liable for their Parental Failures?
April 16, 2024
Punishing the Parent – Should the Parents of a School Shooter Be Criminally Liable for their Parental Failures?
By: Abbey Block
Can being a bad parent make you a criminal? A jury in Michigan recently answered yes in the case of Jennifer and James Crumbley – the parents of high school mass shooter, Ethan Crumbley. Although neither Mr. nor Mrs. Crumbley fired a single shot during the school shooting that killed four students (and injured six other people), last week they were each sentenced to ten…
Not a Grande Victory for DOJ
September 13, 2023
Not a Grande Victory for DOJ
By: James Trusty
Frustrated with the massive influx of aliens into Texas, Texas Governor Greg Abbott came up with a plan that was physically simple, but legally complex: drop a 1000-foot-long buoy barrier into the middle of the Rio Grande. The four-foot spherical orange buoys were chained together and anchored to the riverbed near the town of Eagle Pass—a sector that reported 270,000 encounters with migrants during the…
When Acquitted Conduct Becomes Untouchable
July 27, 2023
When Acquitted Conduct Becomes Untouchable
By: James Trusty
Alphonse Gabriel Capone was never prosecuted for murder, so there was never a jury determining whether Al was responsible for the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in which seven gang rivals were executed by Capone’s underlings. Instead, “Scarface” Capone was prosecuted and convicted for felony tax evasion offenses, for which he received 11 years in prison. Since that conviction in 1931, the concept of “getting…
True Threats and True Agendas
July 6, 2023
True Threats and True Agendas
By: James Trusty
Last week’s Supreme Court opinion on the “true threats” doctrine seemingly settles a long- brewing issue in threat-based prosecutions but also reflects the anticipatory positioning of various Associate Justices on much hotter issues that may make their way to SCOTUS consideration in the near future. As such, the debate-behind-the-debate between the Court’s members is of great interest to those who like predicting the next big…
Robocop Finds His Man, But Man Gets Robocop’s Instruction Manual
June 22, 2023
Robocop Finds His Man, But Man Gets Robocop’s Instruction Manual
By: James Trusty
Many years ago, a prosecutor I worked with at the time was in a fascinating murder trial, where the defense included a forensic psychiatrist opining that the defendant suffered from multiple personalities. According to this expert, one of the “inhabitants” of the defendant’s mind was a creature named Tofu the Demon Dog. On cross examination, the doctor volunteered to the jury that these distinct personalities…
Singing the Varsity Blues – Convictions Vacated For Two Defendants in the College Admission Scandal.
June 19, 2023
Singing the Varsity Blues – Convictions Vacated For Two Defendants in the College Admission Scandal.
By: Abbey Block
On May 10, 2023, the First Circuit Court of Appeals provided welcoming news to two of the defendants in “Varsity Blues” the college admissions scandal – their convictions were being vacated. Former Wynn Resorts executive Gamal Abdelaziz and private equity executive John Wilson were just two of dozens of high-profile defendants charged with various white-collar crimes – including bribery and fraud – for making fraudulent…
