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Punishing the Parent – Should the Parents of a School Shooter Be Criminally Liable for their Parental Failures?
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April 16, 2024
Punishing the Parent – Should the Parents of a School Shooter Be Criminally Liable for their Parental Failures?
By: Abbey Block
Can being a bad parent make you a criminal? A jury in Michigan recently answered yes in the case of Jennifer and James Crumbley – the parents of high school mass shooter, Ethan Crumbley. Although neither Mr. nor Mrs. Crumbley fired a single shot during the school shooting that killed four students (and injured six other people), last week they were each sentenced to ten years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. The high school shooting, which took place nearly three years ago in Oxford, Michigan is undoubtedly a horrific tragedy. Nobody questions that the shooter, Ethan, should be punished severely for his actions. Indeed, in 2023, Ethan, who was charged as an adult (despite being fifteen at the time of…
Was FTX Collapse as Bad as Enron? In sentencing SBF, Judge Kaplan Says Yes
April 1, 2024
Was FTX Collapse as Bad as Enron? In sentencing SBF, Judge Kaplan Says Yes
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
On Thursday, March 28, 2024, 32-year old Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history—a fraud perpetrated through two cryptocurrency entities he founded—FTX and Alameda Research. In late-2023, a jury convicted him on various conspiracy and substantive counts for wire fraud on FTX’s customers, securities fraud on FTX’s customers and investors,…
A Tale of Two Courts
February 16, 2024
A Tale of Two Courts
By: James Trusty
Much has been made of the contemptuous and combustible combination of former President Trump and Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoran, the trial judge in the New York “fraud” case that imperils Trump’s ability to do business in New York. This week we got a glimpse into a different proceeding involving an extremely opinionated subject of an accusation—District Attorney Fanni Willis—presided over by Fulton County…
Government Dismisses Its Case After Warrantless Airport Laptop Search
August 19, 2015
Government Dismisses Its Case After Warrantless Airport Laptop Search
By: Ifrah Law
The government has voluntarily dismissed its case against Jae Shik Kim, the South Korean businessman for whom Ifrah Law obtained a motion to suppress in federal court. In 2012, Mr. Kim was stopped by federal agents as he tried to board a plane to South Korea from LAX. The government seized his laptop and copied his hard drive based on suspicion that he…
U.S. Justice Department v. FIFA Executives and Others in Bribery Indictment
June 2, 2015
U.S. Justice Department v. FIFA Executives and Others in Bribery Indictment
By: Ifrah Law
In an ironic twist, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed a 47-count indictment this morning charging nine present and former officials of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (better known by its acronym, FIFA) and five sports marketing executives with fraud, racketeering, bribery and money laundering. The guilty pleas of four individuals and two entities relating to these same allegations were also unsealed. The indictment alleges…
Cell Tower Location Data Privacy Decision Reversed
May 18, 2015
Cell Tower Location Data Privacy Decision Reversed
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
Last July, we reported on United States v. Davis, an Eleventh Circuit decision in favor of privacy rights. In that case, a three-judge panel held that cell phone users have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell phone location data. If the government wants to collect the data, it must first obtain a probable-cause warrant, as required by the Fourth Amendment. The groundbreaking decision…
Laptops, Border Checks and The Fourth Amendment
May 11, 2015
Laptops, Border Checks and The Fourth Amendment
By: Ifrah Law
Photo: “LAX-International-checkin” by TimBray at en.wikipedia. Developments in law are sluggish compared to the rapid rate of technological advancement, and courts must constantly apply old legal principles to technologies which were not contemplated at the time the laws were enacted. Recently, technology has been at the forefront of privacy rights debates, in light of revelations that the government has access to online communications, personal…
Fifth Circuit Rules Only a Seaman Can Commit Seaman’s Manslaughter
March 26, 2015
Fifth Circuit Rules Only a Seaman Can Commit Seaman’s Manslaughter
By: Ifrah Law
A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court serves as a good reminder that criminal statutes say only what they say, and that it is up to the legislature to revise statutes to expand their scope if the legislature cares to do so. The opinion, United States v. Kaluza, arose from the April 20, 2010, blowout of oil, natural…
