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SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
FEATURED
May 11, 2026
SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
By: Lauren Scribner
THE INDICTMENT On April 21, 2026, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that works to “create a multiracial democracy” by “fight[ing] white supremacy and various forms of injustice”[1] was charged in an 11-count indictment[2] in the Middle District of Alabama. The indictment alleges that the SPLC operated “a covert network of informants who were either associated with violent extremist groups . . . or who had infiltrated violent extremist groups at the SPLC’s direction.”[3] Such groups included the Ku Klux Klan, National Alliance, Unite the Right, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Movement, and the American Front.[4] The indictment further alleges that in at least one case, the informant “made racist postings under the…
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
March 26, 2026
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
By: James Trusty
Most criminal law practitioners are quite familiar with clients receiving grand jury subpoenas. There are rituals we go through to figure out whether it’s a “friendly” subpoena, i.e. just trying to get business records from the client to be used against some other target, or whether it’s the visible start of a potential criminal prosecution against the client. Because the legal standard to justify issuing…
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
March 17, 2026
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
By: Nicole Kardell
What do a plastic grocery sack and a pair of Meta Ray-Bans have in common? The harm they can do to others who are powerless to their use. A grocer may pack a shopper’s groceries in a disposable plastic bag, and the shopper may be fine with the packing – the bag is cheap for both. But the environment ends up paying a hefty toll…
Online Pharma Exec Gets 4 Years in Prison for Selling Foreign Drugs in U.S.
January 11, 2013
Online Pharma Exec Gets 4 Years in Prison for Selling Foreign Drugs in U.S.
By: Ifrah Law
Andrew Strempler, a Canadian citizen who helped to pioneer the cross-border online pharmacy industry, was sentenced on January 9, 2013, to four years in prison in connection with allegations that his former company sold fake and misbranded drugs to U.S. citizens. The sentence follows Strempler’s guilty plea in October in federal court in Miami to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Strempler also…
Are the Feds Enlisting FedEx to Police the Illegal Pharma Market?
January 4, 2013
Are the Feds Enlisting FedEx to Police the Illegal Pharma Market?
By: Nicole Kardell
The government may be coming up with a new cost-effective measure to help balance the federal budget – enlisting private companies to do their policing. A 2011 settlement between the Justice Department and Google for $500 million is one recent example. Under the settlement, Google acknowledged responsibility for improperly aiding rogue pharmacies by allowing the pharmacies to post ads through the search engine’s AdWords program….
Bill Could Put Reins on Prosecutors’ Efforts to Seize Domain Names
December 27, 2012
Bill Could Put Reins on Prosecutors’ Efforts to Seize Domain Names
By: Ifrah Law
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, has indicated that she is drafting legislation that would seek to increase judicial oversight over prosecutors’ efforts to act against Internet domain names accused of copyright infringement. While the value of such legislation will depend on the details of the bill, the notion of creating greater control over prosecutorial seizure of domain names…
N.J. Again Passes Online-Poker Bill; Decision Now in Governor’s Hands
December 20, 2012
N.J. Again Passes Online-Poker Bill; Decision Now in Governor’s Hands
By: Ifrah Law
New Jersey could soon become the third state to legalize online gaming within its borders. Its State Senate on December 20, 2012, voted 33-3 to legalize online poker in the state. The General Assembly had previously approved the bill by a vote of 48-25-3. The bill was able to achieve significant bipartisan support in both houses of the state legislature. The bill will now be…
Court’s Strict Interpretation of Bank Fraud Law May Rein In Prosecutors
December 11, 2012
Court’s Strict Interpretation of Bank Fraud Law May Rein In Prosecutors
By: Ifrah Law
A recent interpretation of the federal bank fraud statute by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit may prove to be a useful check to overreaching by federal prosecutors, who have tended to use that statute in the past as a catch-all law enforcement tool. In United States v. Nkansah, the Court reviewed the conviction of a defendant for bank fraud and…
