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Maryland Moving at a Misguided PACE
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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…
New York Mah Jong Ruling May Help Cause of Online Poker
January 29, 2012
New York Mah Jong Ruling May Help Cause of Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
Mah Jong, the ancient Chinese tile-based table game, can now count itself as a winner in the old debate of games of skill vs. games of chance, according to a New York state judge, who recently ruled that the game demands more than luck. On January 4, 2012, Criminal Court Judge John H. Wilson declared in People v. Feng that “the court declines to declare…
Death Penalty Overturned Because of Sleeping, Tweeting Jurors
January 25, 2012
Death Penalty Overturned Because of Sleeping, Tweeting Jurors
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
Contrary to our prediction, the Arkansas Supreme Court has vacated the conviction and sentencing of capital-murder defendant Erickson Dimas-Martinez and remanded the case for a new trial on grounds of juror misconduct. Although the decision is a definite victory for defendants, it may well invite a flood of appeals based on allegations of misconduct, regardless of whether the defendant can demonstrate a reasonable possibility of…
Online Protests Hit Hard Against Anti-Piracy Bills
January 20, 2012
Online Protests Hit Hard Against Anti-Piracy Bills
By: Ifrah Law
Organized online protests over two bills in Congress targeting online copyright infringement — the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) — seem to have crippled these bills’ progress and ended their chances of becoming law in their present form. We have previously written about the protests mounting against the bills. Just this week, high-profile protests cropped up…
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
December 26, 2011
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that it has reversed a long-held position by stating that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting. This marks a major change in policy for DOJ, which has long contended that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling, including poker. Late that day, the DOJ released a 13-page legal opinion dated September…
New Step for Nevada: Commission Approves Online Gambling Regulations
December 23, 2011
New Step for Nevada: Commission Approves Online Gambling Regulations
By: Ifrah Law
On Dec. 22, 2011, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved regulations drafted by the Nevada Gaming Control Board that could make Nevada the first state to provide online gambling within its borders. Earlier this year the Nevada state legislature passed legislation allowing for intrastate online gaming. In June, Governor Brian Sandoval, a former Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman, signed the legislation into law. Earlier this year,…
