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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….
New House Bill May Open Door to Legal Online Poker
June 26, 2011
New House Bill May Open Door to Legal Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
The momentum toward federal legalization of online poker took a significant step forward on Friday, June 24, when Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) held a press conference to discuss the details of his legalization bill. The “Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011” would both legalize online poker and create a new federal agency to oversee its administration. Rep. Barton said…
Court of Appeals 9th Circuit to D.C. Circuit: We’ll See You in [The Supreme] Court
June 24, 2011
Court of Appeals 9th Circuit to D.C. Circuit: We’ll See You in [The Supreme] Court
By: Ifrah Law
Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit cleared the way for the extortion case against Former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) to proceed to trial. In the process, they flatly disagreed with a 2007 ruling by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on a US representative’s right to advance notice for search and seizure. Given this conflict between two appeals courts…
Good-Faith Rule Applies to Document Destruction
June 20, 2011
Good-Faith Rule Applies to Document Destruction
By: Ifrah Law
Big cases can turn on a little rule of evidence called spoliation. The rule recognizes that a trial court has the inherent authority to sanction a party for destroying, altering, or failing to preserve property that the opponent could have used as evidence. A recent decision in the Eastern District of Virginia serves as a reminder that a judge’s decision to award sanctions — and…
Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors
June 13, 2011
Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors
By: Ifrah Law
The botched prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens was a wake-up call of sorts for the U.S. Department of Justice that there would be severe consequences for prosecutors who did not comply with obligations under Brady and related cases. The Department took another hit recently when a federal judge removed an Assistant United States Attorney from the case against the son of disgraced anti-tobacco attorney Richard…
Perjury, Obstruction, and Barry Bonds’ Conviction
June 6, 2011
Perjury, Obstruction, and Barry Bonds’ Conviction
By: Ifrah Law
Last month, an article in the National Law Journal asked a question that has been on the minds of many: “Did Barry Bonds really obstruct justice?” In April a jury convicted baseball legend Barry Bonds on one count of obstruction of justice based on the testimony he provided before a federal grand jury investigating the use of illegal steroids in professional sports. The jury, however,…
