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Murdaugh She Wrote
FEATURED
May 21, 2026
Murdaugh She Wrote
By: James Trusty
As the information regarding Alex Murdaugh’s conniving, murderous ways began to spread far beyond the Lowcountry of South Carolina and into the cable and social media airwaves, a curious and ominous thing took root. The temptation of star power and riches slumped stealthily behind the public face of the proceedings, causing a low-level bureaucrat to destroy the notion of an impartial jury in one of the country’s more conspicuous trials. High profile trials will always be a big part of American culture. Many of us follow each “trial of the century” with rapt attention. I feel antiquated mentioning the OJ Simpson trial—it now feels like a case that I have to pull out of a dusty World Book Encyclopedia to…
SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
May 11, 2026
SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
By: Lauren Scribner
THE INDICTMENT On April 21, 2026, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that works to “create a multiracial democracy” by “fight[ing] white supremacy and various forms of injustice”[1] was charged in an 11-count indictment[2] in the Middle District of Alabama. The indictment alleges that the SPLC operated “a covert network of informants who were either associated with violent extremist groups…
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
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…
Mental Gymnastics: Silenced Voices of Victims in the Sexual Assault Case by USA Gymnastics Team Physician
December 11, 2017
Mental Gymnastics: Silenced Voices of Victims in the Sexual Assault Case by USA Gymnastics Team Physician
By: James Trusty
The high-profile prosecution of the disgraced physician who treated U.S. Olympic gymnasts ended with a stern sentence but a lingering mystery regarding victim rights. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff, serving in the Western District of Michigan, sentenced Larry Nassar to 60 years in prison for his possession of child pornography, as well as some related charges. Nassar had been the team physician for USA…
Did the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers Play a Role in the GOP Tax Plan?
December 5, 2017
Did the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers Play a Role in the GOP Tax Plan?
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
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 like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Panama. Only when the…
Because We Can: Border Patrol Agent’s Presumed Authority To Search Your Electronic Devices
November 20, 2017
Because We Can: Border Patrol Agent’s Presumed Authority To Search Your Electronic Devices
By: Nicole Kardell
This article was originally posted on FEE.org with the title “You Have a Right to Your Data at the Border” on November 18, 2017 Getting past U.S. Customs used to be an annoyance, an aggravating delay. But unless you were attempting to bring into the country something untoward (say, a delightfully stinky French cheese), you were not overly concerned about confronting a customs agent. That…
The Legal Fallout For Harvey Weinstein’s Hired Hands
November 13, 2017
The Legal Fallout For Harvey Weinstein’s Hired Hands
By: Nicole Kardell
*This article was first published November 9, 2017 as an Expert Analysis – Opinion piece for Law360. The revelations surrounding the Harvey Weinstein cover-up are certainly cringeworthy, but are the actions of the mogul’s hired hands actually illegal? That Weinstein allegedly exploited and victimized women is terrible (even if far too common). The fact that so many firms and individuals, including lawyers, were involved in the cover-up…
Customer Data Collection: GDPR Changes Everything.
October 4, 2017
Customer Data Collection: GDPR Changes Everything.
By: Ifrah Law
Beginning on May 25, 2018, companies which process the personal data of European Union residents will be expected to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Even companies located in the United States are subject to this regulation, and violating its terms may result in class actions and hefty fines. If your company collects, stores or mines the data of residents of the…
