Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
FEATURED
May 19, 2025
It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
By: Sara Dalsheim
Government efficiency and spending is a hot topic of controversy in the United States. But even in the context of heated “DOGE” fights, there are proven examples of government efficiency and reduced spending that are clearly working—the passing of measures like the Second Chance and First Step Acts in an effort for mass incarceration and recidivism reduction. The U.S. government spends a total of $80.7 billion on public prisons and jails, and $3.9 billion on private prisons and jails.[1] The government (federal and state) can reduce their spending on incarceration and correctional facilities if efforts are made to remedy the mass incarceration crisis and to combat recidivism. A decline in recidivism saves the government money, makes society safer, and allows…
A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
April 15, 2025
A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
By: James Trusty
The Attorney General’s recent announcement that DOJ will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione raises a host of interesting legal and philosophical issues, and it almost certainly reflects a dramatic about-face from the Biden administration’s approach towards federal prosecutions for death-eligible offenses. Aside from having personally prosecuted three death penalty trials while I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland and when I was…
Trouble in Paradise: White Lotus Character’s Legal Woes Illustrate Civil Forfeiture’s Overreach
April 14, 2025
Trouble in Paradise: White Lotus Character’s Legal Woes Illustrate Civil Forfeiture’s Overreach
By: Abbey Block
Last Sunday, millions of viewers tuned in to watch the season finale of White Lotus – a widely popular show that centers around the week-long vacation of several ultra-wealthy patrons of the fictional “White Lotus” resort in Thailand.[1] The show follows a dynamic cast of quirky characters as they navigate their opulent getaway. One of those characters in this most recent season was Timothy Ratliff…
How Poking the Bear Gets Your Assets Kicked
August 23, 2017
How Poking the Bear Gets Your Assets Kicked
By: James Trusty
For many decades, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals was viewed as a very conservative place, where prosecutors were usually quite comfortable with the status quo, a largely “law and order” kind of venue. During the Obama presidency, the Court’s makeup changed dramatically, with a batch of younger, more liberal judges joining the “old guard” from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Consequently, this particular…
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Prosecutors Can Use Pleas to Skirt Constitution
August 11, 2017
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Prosecutors Can Use Pleas to Skirt Constitution
By: Ifrah Law
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 his right to appeal his conviction—otherwise, future appeals could require…
Why Banning Criminals from the Web Doesn’t Work
July 21, 2017
Why Banning Criminals from the Web Doesn’t Work
By: Steven Eichorn
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 underlying characterizations and beliefs about websites has far-reaching consequences for…
You Can’t Run From Justice
July 19, 2017
You Can’t Run From Justice
By: Ifrah Law
Just last week, a Kentucky lawyer by the name of Eric Conn was sentenced to twelve years in prison by a federal judge for bribery and theft of government money. Though similar sentences are doled out around the country on a daily basis, this was unique because the defendant was not even in the courtroom. The notion that a judge could sentence a defendant in…
The Lowdown on Takedowns
July 13, 2017
The Lowdown on Takedowns
By: James Trusty
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 of addictions and overdoses across the U.S. Takedowns like this…
