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AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?
FEATURED
June 11, 2025
AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?
By: Robert Ward
The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI continues to spark debate, and not just about copyright. Most recently, a federal magistrate judge ordered OpenAI to preserve chats that the company might otherwise have deleted at a user’s request. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that it may be time for a version of the attorney-client or physician-patient privilege, but for AI. While any attempt to define such an “AI privilege” would involve tackling difficult questions about our relationships with AI systems, the more likely barrier will be the general reluctance to recognize new evidentiary privileges, particularly in federal courts. The expansive AI privilege Altman appears to envision is therefore unlikely to materialize any time soon. The premise of Altman’s…
It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
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…
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…
Did Florida Accidentally Outlaw All Smartphones?
August 8, 2013
Did Florida Accidentally Outlaw All Smartphones?
By: Ifrah Law
A lawsuit recently filed by Incredible Investments, LLC, owned by entrepreneur Consuelo Zapata, alleges that the language in a recently enacted Florida law that was intended to shut down Internet cafes and slot machines has actually outlawed all mobile devices that are capable of accessing the Internet. The complaint, which seeks to have the new law declared unconstitutional, alleges that in the process of hastily…
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
August 2, 2013
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
By: Ifrah Law
More than two years after “Black Friday” – the day on which federal prosecutors shut down the U.S. operations of Full Tilt Poker and other major online poker providers and seized billions of dollars in assets – it appears that the final chapter in that enforcement action may soon be written. The Garden City Group, the entity responsible for claims administration for repayment of Full…
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
July 29, 2013
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
By: Ifrah Law
A recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision narrows the ability of the government to revisit uncharged crimes against a person whose plea has been vacated due to a change in the law. In 2007, Russell Caso had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343 and 1346, based on certain conduct during his employment as…
Conspirators Get Prison Time for Defrauding Small Business 8(a) Program
July 22, 2013
Conspirators Get Prison Time for Defrauding Small Business 8(a) Program
By: Jeff Ifrah
White-collar crime can involve any number of types of fraud against the government or private parties. One that isn’t usually thought about but can result in serious jail time involves conspiracies to obtain government contracts fraudulently by setting up bogus small and minority-owned businesses in order to qualify for government preferences. In the past few months in the Eastern District of Virginia, several businesspeople have…
Judge Declares He’s Not Potted Plant, Asserts Right to Supervise Deferred Prosecution Agreements
July 19, 2013
Judge Declares He’s Not Potted Plant, Asserts Right to Supervise Deferred Prosecution Agreements
By: Ifrah Law
A recent decision by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York may be the harbinger of new limits on the government’s ability to use a prosecutorial tool of which it has become very fond lately – the deferred prosecution agreement. Judge Gleeson’s assertion that a district court has a right to approve or disapprove the use of a DPA in a…
