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Maryland Moving at a Misguided PACE
FEATURED
March 14, 2025
Maryland Moving at a Misguided PACE
By: James Trusty
Maryland legislature is considering passing a law ineptly called the Protecting the Admissibility of Creative Expression (“PACE Act”) which would limit the use of rap lyrics, among other forms of expression, in criminal and juvenile proceedings. While prosecution use of rap lyrics in criminal trials is a bit uncommon, the state house move here is in reaction to a 2020 murder case in which a defendant’s post-arrest rap about killing “snitches” with a “.40” may have weighed heavily in the jury’s conviction. In Montague v. State, 471 Md. 657 Md. 2020) the Maryland Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling that Montague’s ruminations about murder and using a .40 caliber weapon—made from a jail phone after his arrest—was not an…
My Brother’s Keeper
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…
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…
FBI Raid Targets For-Profit School in Florida: Was This Necessary?
June 18, 2012
FBI Raid Targets For-Profit School in Florida: Was This Necessary?
By: Nicole Kardell
When you hear of FBI agents descending upon a place, you might think of a hostage situation, a drug raid, or the penetration of a terrorist cell. But you probably wouldn’t assume that those armed agents were working with the U.S. Department of Education on a raid on a Florida for-profit college. FBI agents raided campuses of FastTrain College in May 2012 in order to…
DOJ’s Response to Grassley Gives Details, but Not the Right Details
June 4, 2012
DOJ’s Response to Grassley Gives Details, but Not the Right Details
By: Nicole Kardell
The Justice Department showed off some fancy dance moves in a recent sidestep it used to respond to an inquiry from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Grassley wanted detail from Justice to support its claims that it has brought thousands of mortgage fraud cases, including numerous convictions against Wall Street execs, following the 2008 housing crisis. Justice provided detail . . . but not detail responsive…
Abbott’s $1.6 Billion Pharmacy Law Settlement Stands as Cautionary Tale to Pharma Companies
May 29, 2012
Abbott’s $1.6 Billion Pharmacy Law Settlement Stands as Cautionary Tale to Pharma Companies
By: Ifrah Law
A recent settlement by global pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories over its promotion of the drug Depakote shows that federal regulators remain prepared to pursue drug manufacturers for promoting unapproved uses of their products. Abbott has agreed to pay federal and state governments a total of $1.6 billion in criminal and civil fines and to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor violation of the Food and…
Worst Part of Wal-Mart Bribery Case Is Failure to Conduct Proper Investigation
April 24, 2012
Worst Part of Wal-Mart Bribery Case Is Failure to Conduct Proper Investigation
By: Jeff Ifrah
Over the weekend, The New York Times broke a major story, publishing a highly detailed 8,000-word article that seems to indicate that Wal-Mart not only engaged in a pattern of bribery of Mexican government officials in the mid-2000s but also that the company intentionally stifled an internal investigation of the alleged bribery and in fact directed most of its furor against the former employee who…
Suspect Extradited From Estonia to Face Massive Internet Fraud Charges
April 23, 2012
Suspect Extradited From Estonia to Face Massive Internet Fraud Charges
By: Ifrah Law
One of the features of crimes committed over the Internet is that they may be committed from anywhere in the world where a defendant has access a computer. A current case in New York shows that extradition likewise can reach around the globe. On April 19, 2012, Anton Ivanov was extradited from Estonia to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer intrusion,…
