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Subpoenas Posts
Does ‘Speech or Debate’ Trump the Right to Defend Oneself in Court?
Feb 20, 2013
Does ‘Speech or Debate’ Trump the Right to Defend Oneself in Court?
On February 5, 2013, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to hold that U.S. legislators and their aides cannot be forced to testify about their legislative activities, even when their expected testimony might help exonerate a criminal…
FBI Raid Targets For-Profit School in Florida: Was This Necessary?
Jun 18, 2012
FBI Raid Targets For-Profit School in Florida: Was This Necessary?
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…
Journalist Challenges DOJ Subpoena, Claims Reporter’s Privilege
Jul 20, 2011
Journalist Challenges DOJ Subpoena, Claims Reporter’s Privilege
James Risen, an investigative journalist for The New York Times, is currently challenging a subpoena issued by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking testimony from him against a CIA agent accused of leaking classified information. The subpoena highlights a trend in which the government attempts to use journalists’ testimony against government employees who reveal information…
California Court OKs Warrantless Search of Cell Phone
Jan 19, 2011
California Court OKs Warrantless Search of Cell Phone
The text messages in a defendant’s cell phone are in no way different, for the purposes of a police search after an arrest, from the defendant’s clothing or a cigarette package. That was the holding of the California Supreme Court on January 3, 2011, in People v. Diaz, a case in which the state’s highest…
ISPs Take Note: Court Rules E-mails Have Full 4th Amendment Protection
Dec 15, 2010
ISPs Take Note: Court Rules E-mails Have Full 4th Amendment Protection
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has just issued a trail-blazing opinion that is good news for anyone who has ever sent an e-mail – and that needs to be carefully read and adhered to by all Internet service providers (ISPs). We noted six months ago that ISPs have been all too…
Stacking the Deck Against Defendants in Conspiracy Cases?
Dec 13, 2010
Stacking the Deck Against Defendants in Conspiracy Cases?
Are prosecutors stacking the deck against defendants in conspiracy cases? A case now on appeal in the Second Circuit is posing that interesting question. On appeal from his conviction in a fake reinsurance deal scheme, former General Re Corporation assistant general counsel Robert Graham is arguing that the government denied him a fair trial by…
Did Drug Company Lawyer Make False Statements to FDA?
Nov 10, 2010
Did Drug Company Lawyer Make False Statements to FDA?
When regulatory agencies ask major corporations to hand over documents to them as part of an ongoing investigation, there’s normally a pretty clear understanding of how things work: if the agency doesn’t receive the full set of documents it is asking for, it negotiates with the company, or ratchets up the urgency of the request,…
In Rare Ruling, Court Permits Discovery Into Motives Behind FTC Subpoena
Jul 26, 2010
In Rare Ruling, Court Permits Discovery Into Motives Behind FTC Subpoena
When a U.S. magistrate judge in the District of Columbia issued his ruling in Federal Trade Commission v. Bisaro on July 13, 2010, permitting limited discovery of certain FTC officials regarding an agency subpoena, it had been more than three decades since the D.C. Circuit had found that “extraordinary circumstances” were present that warranted discovery…
EFF Challenges Subpoenas to ISPs for Identities of Anonymous Posters
Jul 22, 2010
EFF Challenges Subpoenas to ISPs for Identities of Anonymous Posters
On July 14, 2010, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a group that defends the privacy and online rights of computer and Internet users, served a motion to quash two dragnet subpoenas issued by the plaintiffs in a high-profile New York state court case to Internet service providers (ISP’s) Google and Yahoo. The subpoenas demanded the identities…
Defense Wants Information on Informant in Dramatic FCPA White-Collar Sting Case
Jul 16, 2010
Defense Wants Information on Informant in Dramatic FCPA White-Collar Sting Case
January 2010 saw the dramatic arrests of 22 individuals in the military and law enforcement equipment industry – in several companies and at various levels of responsibility – for alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations involving payments to an alleged sales agent for an unnamed African nation, later identified as Gabon. The arrests took place…
