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Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
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March 26, 2026
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
By: James Trusty
Most criminal law practitioners are quite familiar with clients receiving grand jury subpoenas. There are rituals we go through to figure out whether it’s a “friendly” subpoena, i.e. just trying to get business records from the client to be used against some other target, or whether it’s the visible start of a potential criminal prosecution against the client. Because the legal standard to justify issuing a subpoena is so low, an outright fight against the prosecutor issuing the subpoena is extremely uphill. A motion to quash is only granted “if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive.”[1]Until a couple of weeks ago, that framework usually translated into successful challenges only when the subpoena’s request was so broad in terms of substance…
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
March 17, 2026
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
By: Nicole Kardell
What do a plastic grocery sack and a pair of Meta Ray-Bans have in common? The harm they can do to others who are powerless to their use. A grocer may pack a shopper’s groceries in a disposable plastic bag, and the shopper may be fine with the packing – the bag is cheap for both. But the environment ends up paying a hefty toll…
The New Corporate Enforcement Blueprint: DOJ’s “First-Ever” Department-Wide Corporate Enforcement Policy
March 16, 2026
The New Corporate Enforcement Blueprint: DOJ’s “First-Ever” Department-Wide Corporate Enforcement Policy
By: Robert Ward
Understanding the DOJ’s New Corporate Enforcement Framework On March 10, 2026, just weeks after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) released its updated voluntary corporate self-disclosure program for fraud and financial misconduct, the Department of Justice introduced its first Department‑wide Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP). The CEP establishes a uniform approach for evaluating voluntary disclosures and cooperation across all DOJ…
Civil or Criminal Liability: Charging A Payment Processing Case by Coin Toss?
August 17, 2020
Civil or Criminal Liability: Charging A Payment Processing Case by Coin Toss?
By: James Trusty
In the eyes of federal investigators, when is a payment processor considered a benevolent alternative to traditional banks, and when is it viewed as a shady facilitator of all things criminal? In other words, is the client another Paypal or Venmo, or are we looking at a potential WireCard AG prosecution? We have noticed in recent cases that prosecutors are across the board in their…
Going…Going…Ghosn
May 22, 2020
Going…Going…Ghosn
By: James Trusty
While much of the focus on the Japanese prosecution of high-profile executive Carlos Ghosn has been on his spectacular private jet escape from Japan while hidden in an instruments case, his prosecution actually raises much more profound issues about white collar criminal prosecution in Japan and in the United States. Ghosn is an indisputably talented executive at the highest reaches of the auto manufacturing and…
Death by a Thousand Cuts
May 8, 2020
Death by a Thousand Cuts
By: James Trusty
When legal scholars look back at the failed Flynn prosecution, they will not be able to pin the dismissal on a single deficiency or legal principle, but if they are fair they will recognize a small case that was plagued with innumerable flaws. The DOJ Motion to Dismiss, filed in the rarified air of a case where the guilty plea already took place, spends a…
Videoconferencing to the Rescue
April 1, 2020
Videoconferencing to the Rescue
By: James Trusty
While the recent passage of the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is receiving tremendous attention because of its price tag, strategies to keep businesses and families afloat, and its hidden gems for beneficiaries like the Kennedy Center, it also has a component that is important for federal practitioners who handle criminal matters in District Courts around the country. Federal courts currently show…
How White Hats Get Dirty
March 19, 2020
How White Hats Get Dirty
By: James Trusty
Historically, undercover operations by law enforcement would run into problematic “loyalty tests,” designed to make sure that the criminal conspirators could trust the “new guy.” Biker gangs would ask this “pledge” to beat someone up or take drugs, knowing law enforcement agencies would likely not let that happen, even in an undercover capacity. Prostitution stings could be compromised by either a John smart enough to…
