Category: Federal Criminal Law
Tyson KO’s Indiana: How a Self-Described Junkie Found Nine New Friends in the Supreme Court
There’s a saying that many prosecutors know as an exhortation to “take the long view” and to use discretion even where the law seems to permit an aggressive approach—it’s that “bad facts make bad law.” In the case of Indiana prosecutors seeking to cash in on a car seizure from a low-level drug dealer, their… Read More
The Cliffhanger – Paul Manafort’s Sentencing Drama
A hit man walks into a restaurant where Tony Soprano and his family are eating dinner while the jukebox blares a Journey song. The last show of the highly successful series ends with an abrupt cut to black before the audience knows the fate of Tony and his family. The end of The Sopranos series… Read More
Marijuana May Be Headed for a Showdown Out West
Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memo to all U.S. Attorneys that announced a sharp reversal on the DOJ’s approach to marijuana prosecutions. Under the Obama administration, the DOJ issued a memorandum in 2013 (the “Cole memo”) that basically provided a safe harbor to the marijuana industry in states that legalized recreational marijuana…. Read More
Did the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers Play a Role in the GOP Tax Plan?
Congress is poised to deliver on tax reform this year. As part of the package, both houses are seeking to encourage the repatriation of trillions of dollars that corporations and wealthy individuals have been stockpiling offshore. For decades, corporations and wealthy individuals have been able to avoid taxes legally by transferring assets to tax-friendly jurisdictions… Read More
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Prosecutors Can Use Pleas to Skirt Constitution
While the endless portrayal of jury trials in media might indicate otherwise, trials are actually quite rare in the U.S. criminal justice system. With 97% of federal cases ending in pleas, the Atticus Finch conception of American justice has been largely confined to books. Ordinarily, when an accused enters into a plea agreement, he waives… Read More
Why Banning Criminals from the Web Doesn’t Work
A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Packingham v. North Carolina, 137 S. Ct. 1730 (U.S. 2017) invalidating a state law outlawing registered sex offenders from accessing websites which could facilitate offender-minor direct communication. While the majority opinion and concurrence seems grounded in, and specific to, sex offender restrictions, the… Read More
The Lowdown on Takedowns
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a battery of other federal law enforcement officials today announced the “largest health care fraud takedown” in U.S. history, with 412 charged defendants, including 56 doctors, accused of defrauding taxpayers of roughly $1.3 billion. Importantly, the takedown focused on the over-prescription of opioids, a phenomenon that has led to thousands… Read More
The “Third Party” Catch-22
As the Department of Justice has been doubling down on law enforcement overreach, the Supreme Court has just decided to hear a case that may limit the use of a common tool that law enforcement uses to infringe upon the privacy rights of innocent people. The case, Carpenter v. United States, arises out of a… Read More
When A Threat Becomes A Crime
A Miami Beach man was recently accused of threatening President Trump on Twitter. He sent the threat directly to Secret Service, challenging them to stop his Inauguration Day surprise. They did, and Dominic Puopolo, who used the screen name of Lord Jesus Christ, is now in federal custody. Sending a threat to the President, to an ex-wife,… Read More
Will Clemency Continue?
There are many big policy changes happening in Washington these days and they receive appropriate press coverage. But, there are also many smaller changes that can have literally life changing effects on citizens, which are not generally reported in the media. One of those smaller changes is whether the Trump administration will revive a clemency program… Read More
IFRAH Law
