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Crime in the Suites An Analysis of Current Issues in White Collar Defense

A Blog About Current Issues in White Collar Defense

On June 3, 2011, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Representative David Price (D-N.C.) re-introduced the Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (CEJA), which aims to extend U.S. criminal jurisdiction in to U.S. citizens working abroad as federal contractors or employees. Leahy and Price introduced similar legislation in the last congressional session. However, that attempt died in committee because of concerns that it would extend to U.S. intelligence workers and cause them to pause before undertaking their crucial missions. The most recent version would “carve out” an exception for intelligence agency contractors. Since 2000, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act has placed U.S. government contractors within the reach of U.S. prosecutors only if they are employed by the Department of Defense. Some observers have argued strongly for a broader criminal jurisdiction, which would include non-DOD contractors as well. They point to a number of crimes committed by U.S. government contractors and employees working abroad. One of these crimes was the shooting of unarmed Iraqi citizens in 2007... Read more

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… Read More

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June 22, 2011

Ifrah Law’s Blog Wrap-Up, June 1-20

By: Ifrah Law

This is the sixth of a regular series of posts that summarize and wrap up our latest thoughts that have appeared recently on Ifrah Law’s blogs. 1. Perjury, Obstruction and Barry Bonds’ Conviction Read why we regard the Barry Bonds obstruction of justice verdict as troubling: It sets a bad precedent for the grand jury… Read More

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… Read More

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June 17, 2011

Online Poker Finds New Supporter on the Hill

By: Ifrah Law

Legalization of online poker has found a new and unlikely supporter on Capitol Hill. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), an outspoken conservative, has announced that he will support legalization and is planning some parliamentary maneuvers to try to get it to the House floor eventually. It turns out that in addition to being a conservative, Rep…. Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

In November, we reported on the unusual indictment in the District of Maryland of Lauren Stevens, then an in-house attorney at GlaxoSmithKline, on charges of obstruction of justice, falsifying and concealing documents, and making false statements in a civil discovery context. Stevens’ indictment arose from her alleged failure to disclose documents to the Food and… Read More

Just a couple of months ago, there was considerable optimism after the introduction of an interactive-gaming bill in the Nevada legislature that that state could be the first to legalize online poker. However, in the wake of last month’s “Black Friday” indictments, it now appears that the optimism was premature. The state legislature is clearly… Read More