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The DOJ Steps Up for Military Families
FEATURED
June 29, 2026
The DOJ Steps Up for Military Families
By: Lauren Scribner
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C. § 4025a, grants military spouses portability of their professional licenses. That means when a military spouse moves with his or her servicemember to the servicemember’s assigned duty station in a new state, the spouse’s professional license essentially moves with them.[1] In order to take advantage of this license portability benefit in the new state, the SCRA requires a military spouse to submit only three documents: (1) proof of military orders documenting the assigned duty station in the new state; (2) a marriage certificate; and (3) a notarized affidavit affirming a few key details, such as the applicant being in good standing in all other states of licensure. The reasons the SCRA exists…
How Much is Too Much? – Second Circuit Establishes Guardrails for Sentencing Hearings
June 22, 2026
How Much is Too Much? – Second Circuit Establishes Guardrails for Sentencing Hearings
By: James Trusty
As any federal criminal practitioner can attest, judges holding a sentencing hearing are privy to an intentionally wider universe of information about the defendant than a jury would have heard about at trial. We want judges to consider all sorts of things about the offender and the offense, beyond just the facts establishing the crime – social background, employment history, criminal record, substance abuse history, mental health issues, and more. Particularly in…
Robotic Risk—but Is the Ultimate Answer Still a Human One?
May 26, 2026
Robotic Risk—but Is the Ultimate Answer Still a Human One?
By: Lauren Scribner
It now goes without saying that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a convenient solution for accomplishing certain tedious tasks, such as planning an upcoming trip, figuring out what to make for dinner with ingredients already on hand, or adding some professional flare to an email. But when it comes to some of the more high-stakes areas of life, such as obtaining financial, medical, or legal…
Are the Feds Enlisting FedEx to Police the Illegal Pharma Market?
January 4, 2013
Are the Feds Enlisting FedEx to Police the Illegal Pharma Market?
By: Nicole Kardell
The government may be coming up with a new cost-effective measure to help balance the federal budget – enlisting private companies to do their policing. A 2011 settlement between the Justice Department and Google for $500 million is one recent example. Under the settlement, Google acknowledged responsibility for improperly aiding rogue pharmacies by allowing the pharmacies to post ads through the search engine’s AdWords program….
Bill Could Put Reins on Prosecutors’ Efforts to Seize Domain Names
December 27, 2012
Bill Could Put Reins on Prosecutors’ Efforts to Seize Domain Names
By: Ifrah Law
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, has indicated that she is drafting legislation that would seek to increase judicial oversight over prosecutors’ efforts to act against Internet domain names accused of copyright infringement. While the value of such legislation will depend on the details of the bill, the notion of creating greater control over prosecutorial seizure of domain names…
N.J. Again Passes Online-Poker Bill; Decision Now in Governor’s Hands
December 20, 2012
N.J. Again Passes Online-Poker Bill; Decision Now in Governor’s Hands
By: Ifrah Law
New Jersey could soon become the third state to legalize online gaming within its borders. Its State Senate on December 20, 2012, voted 33-3 to legalize online poker in the state. The General Assembly had previously approved the bill by a vote of 48-25-3. The bill was able to achieve significant bipartisan support in both houses of the state legislature. The bill will now be…
Court’s Strict Interpretation of Bank Fraud Law May Rein In Prosecutors
December 11, 2012
Court’s Strict Interpretation of Bank Fraud Law May Rein In Prosecutors
By: Ifrah Law
A recent interpretation of the federal bank fraud statute by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit may prove to be a useful check to overreaching by federal prosecutors, who have tended to use that statute in the past as a catch-all law enforcement tool. In United States v. Nkansah, the Court reviewed the conviction of a defendant for bank fraud and…
D.C. Circuit: Restitution Order Must Involve Victim’s Loss, Not Defendant’s Gain
December 5, 2012
D.C. Circuit: Restitution Order Must Involve Victim’s Loss, Not Defendant’s Gain
By: Ifrah Law
On November 9, 2012, in a unanimous opinion in United States v. Fair, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the district court had abused its discretion in ordering restitution in the amount of $743,000 in a criminal copyright infringement case. The appeals court vacated the lower court’s restitution order, finding that the order was based on “a clear legal and…
