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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….
What’s at the Bottom of the ‘Robosigning’ Scandal?
April 9, 2013
What’s at the Bottom of the ‘Robosigning’ Scandal?
By: Nicole Kardell
The problematic practice of robosigning – whereby banks and other lenders improperly foreclosed on properties through formulaically processing foreclosure documents – has been much in the news over the past couple of years. The feds have been investigating banks and individuals; state attorneys general have joined forces in pursuit of robosigners; and, unsurprisingly, there have been a number of class actions filed by consumers whose…
Judge Strikes Down FBI’s Use of ‘National Security Letters’
March 29, 2013
Judge Strikes Down FBI’s Use of ‘National Security Letters’
By: Ifrah Law
In a recent decision, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California struck down the FBI’s use of National Security Letters (NSLs) as unconstitutional. Unbeknownst to most Americans, the FBI has been issuing thousands of NSLs every year. The letters demand that recipients, such as banks and telephone companies, provide customers’ information such as their transactional records, phone numbers dialed, and email…
Court: Data on Unsecured Network May Qualify for 4th Amendment Protection
March 11, 2013
Court: Data on Unsecured Network May Qualify for 4th Amendment Protection
By: Ifrah Law
The vast increase in the use of wireless data networks has led to new legal issues regarding network users’ right to privacy. A recent opinion issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon indicates that, under some circumstances, individuals on an unsecured wireless network have a reasonable expectation of privacy entitling them to Fourth Amendment protection. As a result, police officers must…
Was This Identity Theft? Sixth Circuit Should Limit Meaning of That Term
March 5, 2013
Was This Identity Theft? Sixth Circuit Should Limit Meaning of That Term
By: Nicole Kardell
What’s in a name? When you think of identity theft, you typically think of someone taking a person’s name plus some other identifiers, like their address and Social Security number or credit card number, to go on a spending spree or drain the victim’s bank account. You may think of fraudulent impersonation. But what if someone falsely stated that another person gave him permission to…
Va. Court Declines to Decide Status of Poker Under State’s Gambling Law
March 4, 2013
Va. Court Declines to Decide Status of Poker Under State’s Gambling Law
By: Ifrah Law
On February 28, 2013, the Virginia Supreme Court issued an opinion in which it declined to address the legality of playing poker in the state but left open the possibility for the issue to be decided in a future case. The full opinion in the case, Daniels v. Mobley, is available here. Charles Daniels, a former poker hall operator who operated charitable bingo halls in…
