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DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes
FEATURED
January 31, 2025
DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes
By: James Trusty
Amidst the tidal wave of Executive Orders, presidential appointments, and policy announcements, it is easy to treat last week’s Interim Policy Memo from the Acting Deputy Attorney General[1] as just another ripple of nominal change that occurs when democrats replace republicans or republicans replace democrats. And, indeed, although there are portions of it that reflect the recurring philosophical tug-of-war over the tough on crime approach first memorialized by Attorney General Thornburgh in 1989, it would be a serious oversight to miss the Memo’s dramatic departure from status quo and even from the first Trump administration’s view of federal prosecutor responsibilities. The heart of the memo is immigration enforcement. The Memo emphasizes the need for DOJ and the Department of Homeland…
Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality
January 7, 2025
Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality
By: James Trusty
A Florida Judge may have unwittingly ushered in a new age of criminal justice, where slickly made virtual reality (“VR”) presentations turn judges and jurors into witnesses, and VR headsets provide subjective “testimony” in a powerful and difficult to challenge manner. Broward County Judge Andrew Siegel agreed to don a virtual reality headset in a preliminary proceeding[1] where the defendant was accused of aggravated assault….
How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power
December 6, 2024
How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power
By: James Trusty
As the presiding judge scolded Hunter Biden’s attorneys this week, “The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.”[1] But what exactly is that history he claims is being re-written? Judge Scarsi was challenging…
Convicted of Fraud but Changed Their Lives; Appeals Court Takes Note
November 29, 2011
Convicted of Fraud but Changed Their Lives; Appeals Court Takes Note
By: Ifrah Law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit recently issued a notable decision in the case of United States v. Robertson, vacating and remanding the sentences of two defendants convicted of a mortgage fraud scheme because the sentencing judge failed to consider unusually strong evidence of self-motivated rehabilitation. In the late 1990’s, Henry and Elizabeth Robertson were involved in a mortgage fraud scheme through…
In Appeal of Construction Fraud Case, DOJ Seeks Tougher Sentences
November 17, 2011
In Appeal of Construction Fraud Case, DOJ Seeks Tougher Sentences
By: Ifrah Law
In a very rare case in which the government argued that it viewed criminal sentences as too lenient, the U.S. Department of Justice contended in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Nov. 7, 2011, that the sentences handed out to two government contractors convicted of fraud did not accurately reflect the seriousness of their crimes. Robert Prosperi, the…
Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand
November 7, 2011
Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand
By: Ifrah Law
In 2001, federal inmate Richard Lee Pollard sustained two broken elbows after tripping over a cart in a privately operated prison housing federal inmates. He sued five prison employees for their actions after his injuries. On Nov. 1, 2011, the Supreme Court held oral argument in Minneci v. Pollard and considered the possibility of creating a new federal remedy against private employees who work for…
House Panel Hears Arguments in Favor of Legal Online Poker
October 27, 2011
House Panel Hears Arguments in Favor of Legal Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
On Oct. 25, 2011, the possibility of legal online poker in the United States was aired before the House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade at a hearing entitled “Internet Gaming: Is There a Safe Bet?” The hearing was convened to discuss the “Internet Gambling, Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011,” introduced in June by Rep. Joe…
Spurned Juror Loses in Court, But His Efforts Lead to New D.C. Court Rule
October 26, 2011
Spurned Juror Loses in Court, But His Efforts Lead to New D.C. Court Rule
By: Ifrah Law
A former juror in Washington, D.C., recently lost a District Court ruling stemming from his dismissal from a grand jury panel in 2001, but his case appears to have brought about needed change in the jury system there. Peter Atherton, a nuclear engineer, was scheduled to serve on the grand jury for 25 days, beginning April 9, 2001. Concerned that his fellow jurors were voting…