driving near anza-borrego desert state park, ocatillo, ca - usa

DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes

DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes

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…

Read More about DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes

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….

Read More about Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality

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…

Read More about How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

A New Turn for Washington State’s Online Poker Law

October 15, 2010

A New Turn for Washington State’s Online Poker Law

By: Ifrah Law

After the unanimous rejection by the Washington State Supreme Court of a lawsuit that attempted to overturn the state’s draconian ban on online poker, proponents of the game now say that they’re going to go to the state legislature and try to get the law repealed, rather than pursue the challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court. On Sept. 23, 2010, the state court rejected the…

Read More about A New Turn for Washington State’s Online Poker Law

Banned From the Internet: A Term of Probation That Is Overly Restrictive

October 11, 2010

Banned From the Internet: A Term of Probation That Is Overly Restrictive

By: Ifrah Law

The following opinion article by Ifrah PLLC founding partner A. Jeff Ifrah and associate Steven Eichorn appeared in the National Law Journal on October 11, 2010. Banned from the Internet Prohibiting a defendant on probation from conducting any business online is overly restrictive and not reasonably related to legitimate sentencing goals. By A. Jeff Ifrah and Steven Eichorn The Internet is becoming the town square for…

Read More about Banned From the Internet: A Term of Probation That Is Overly Restrictive

Too Little, Too Late for Defense Argument?

September 28, 2010

Too Little, Too Late for Defense Argument?

By: Ifrah Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit is considering whether the government’s belated disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence deprived criminal defendant Amit Mathur of a fair trial. The fact that Mathur’s counsel received some of the evidence after the government’s case in chief and declined to use it in Mathur’s defense makes it unlikely that Mathur will obtain the new trial he seeks….

Read More about Too Little, Too Late for Defense Argument?

Fourth Amendment the Loser in BALCO Ruling

September 27, 2010

Fourth Amendment the Loser in BALCO Ruling

By: Ifrah Law

A recent ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is a win for Major League Baseball players whose drug-testing records must now be returned to them after they were improperly seized in a 2002 federal steroids probe. But it’s not a win for Fourth Amendment values. In a September 13, 2010, en banc ruling, the appeals court took a major step…

Read More about Fourth Amendment the Loser in BALCO Ruling

For Convicted CEO, Legal Fee Payment Depends on the Agreement

September 17, 2010

For Convicted CEO, Legal Fee Payment Depends on the Agreement

By: Ifrah Law

When is a company obliged to pay the legal fees of a wayward employee? The answer generally depends on the precise wording of the employee agreement, if an agreement exists.   A good case in point is the recent one of Frances Flood, the CEO of ClearOne Communications, who left the company in 2004 while under SEC investigation. Things didn’t turn out well for her:…

Read More about For Convicted CEO, Legal Fee Payment Depends on the Agreement

Articles and Presentations by Our Firm Attorneys

DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes

DOJ Memo Sneaks In Seismic Changes
By: James Trusty

Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality

Virtual Reality Creating Jury Reality
By: James Trusty

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power
By: James Trusty

Subscribe to Ifrah Law’s Insights