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Supremely Improbable
FEATURED
July 30, 2024
Supremely Improbable
By: James Trusty
President Biden’s pronounced objectives for Supreme Court “reform” are improbable, politically lifeless under a particularly lame duck presidency, and motivated by transparently November-driven calculations. But even if the proposed changes are doomed from the start, they push public discourse on a couple of issues that are red meat for the democrats. The stated reforms are superficially simple ones: 1) to “clarify” that “there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office,” 2) to limit SCOTUS appointments to 18-year terms, and 3) to create a mandatory/enforceable ethics code on the high court. Some context for this agenda is in order. The “clarification” push flows directly, albeit inaccurately, from the recent immunity decision in Trump v. United States….
Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury
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…
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…
$25 Billion Mortgage Fraud Settlement Marks Turning Point for Industry
April 16, 2012
$25 Billion Mortgage Fraud Settlement Marks Turning Point for Industry
By: Ifrah Law
On April 4, the $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement, which was announced in February, was finalized by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers — Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup Inc., and Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC) — was negotiated by 49…
Second Circuit YouTube Ruling Will Have Major Impact for Online-Piracy Debate
April 10, 2012
Second Circuit YouTube Ruling Will Have Major Impact for Online-Piracy Debate
By: Nicole Kardell
What had been touted as a great victory for Google in particular and for “Internet freedom” in general was just dealt a major blow when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision in Viacom’s lawsuit against Google and Google-owned YouTube. Viacom, along with the English Premier League and various film studios and television networks, sued…
Grassley’s Case Against DOJ Stance on Financial Fraud Is Vastly Overstated
April 9, 2012
Grassley’s Case Against DOJ Stance on Financial Fraud Is Vastly Overstated
By: Ifrah Law
In recent weeks, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has criticized the Department of Justice’s handling of executives that some argue are responsible for the financial crisis. Sen. Grassley, the ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, held a hearing in February that looked at mortgage fraud, foreclosure abuse and lending discrimination practices. During his opening statement at that hearing, Sen. Grassley stated, “The…
Nevada Case Points to Perils of Assertion of 5th Amendment in Civil Cases
March 12, 2012
Nevada Case Points to Perils of Assertion of 5th Amendment in Civil Cases
By: Ifrah Law
One of the hardest decisions on which a lawyer may be called upon to advise a client in civil litigation is the decision whether to assert the Fifth Amendment privilege. On the one hand, the overlap between pending civil and criminal matters may make it dangerous for the client to make statements that could incriminate him or her in the criminal case. On the other…
D.C. Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Admission of Handwriting Evidence
March 8, 2012
D.C. Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Admission of Handwriting Evidence
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
If there was ever an open question as to whether forensic handwriting identification is admissible under D.C.’s common law of evidence, the D.C. Court of Appeals has finally put that question to rest. On February 9, 2012, the Court of Appeals held that handwriting comparison and identification, as practiced by FBI examiners, passes the Frye test for admissibility. The issue arose after Robert Pettus’ jury…
