Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
My Brother’s Keeper
FEATURED
February 20, 2025
My Brother’s Keeper
By: Abbey Block
Am I my brother’s keeper? Or more specifically, can lawyers be sued for their clients’ bad behavior? A newly proposed bill out of Washington state says yes. The bill, HB 1891, provides the following legal framework, under which an attorney can be sued for injuries caused by his or her client who is released from detention pending trial: Any person injured by an individual who was previously arrested for a violent offense, and subsequently released from custody before trial for such offense as a result of the advocacy of their criminal defense counsel, has a cause of action against such criminal defense counsel if: (a) The individual caused the injury after being released from custody; and (b) the criminal defense…
DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes
January 31, 2025
DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes
By: James Trusty
Amidst the tidal wave of Executive Orders, presidential appointments, and policy announcements, it is easy to treat last week’s Interim Policy Memo from the Acting Deputy Attorney General[1] as just another ripple of nominal change that occurs when democrats replace republicans or republicans replace democrats. And, indeed, although there are portions of it that reflect the recurring philosophical tug-of-war over the tough on crime approach…
Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality
January 7, 2025
Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality
By: James Trusty
A Florida Judge may have unwittingly ushered in a new age of criminal justice, where slickly made virtual reality (“VR”) presentations turn judges and jurors into witnesses, and VR headsets provide subjective “testimony” in a powerful and difficult to challenge manner. Broward County Judge Andrew Siegel agreed to don a virtual reality headset in a preliminary proceeding[1] where the defendant was accused of aggravated assault….
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
August 2, 2013
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
By: Ifrah Law
More than two years after “Black Friday” – the day on which federal prosecutors shut down the U.S. operations of Full Tilt Poker and other major online poker providers and seized billions of dollars in assets – it appears that the final chapter in that enforcement action may soon be written. The Garden City Group, the entity responsible for claims administration for repayment of Full…
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
July 29, 2013
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
By: Ifrah Law
A recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision narrows the ability of the government to revisit uncharged crimes against a person whose plea has been vacated due to a change in the law. In 2007, Russell Caso had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343 and 1346, based on certain conduct during his employment as…
Conspirators Get Prison Time for Defrauding Small Business 8(a) Program
July 22, 2013
Conspirators Get Prison Time for Defrauding Small Business 8(a) Program
By: Jeff Ifrah
White-collar crime can involve any number of types of fraud against the government or private parties. One that isn’t usually thought about but can result in serious jail time involves conspiracies to obtain government contracts fraudulently by setting up bogus small and minority-owned businesses in order to qualify for government preferences. In the past few months in the Eastern District of Virginia, several businesspeople have…
Judge Declares He’s Not Potted Plant, Asserts Right to Supervise Deferred Prosecution Agreements
July 19, 2013
Judge Declares He’s Not Potted Plant, Asserts Right to Supervise Deferred Prosecution Agreements
By: Ifrah Law
A recent decision by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York may be the harbinger of new limits on the government’s ability to use a prosecutorial tool of which it has become very fond lately – the deferred prosecution agreement. Judge Gleeson’s assertion that a district court has a right to approve or disapprove the use of a DPA in a…
High Court Clarifies Rule on Plea Discussions in Federal Criminal Cases
July 10, 2013
High Court Clarifies Rule on Plea Discussions in Federal Criminal Cases
By: Ifrah Law
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held last month in United States v. Davila that a guilty plea does not need to be automatically vacated, regardless of whether there has been prejudice to the defendant, when a magistrate judge improperly advises a defendant to plead guilty. In 2009, Anthony Davila was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false income tax…
