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Flirting with Disaster: Kid Glove Treatment of an Assassination Attempt Sets Damaging Example
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October 6, 2025
Flirting with Disaster: Kid Glove Treatment of an Assassination Attempt Sets Damaging Example
By: James Trusty
On a crisp October afternoon while the media focused on P Diddy’s high-profile New York sentencing, a less conspicuous—but more consequential—hearing took place in another federal courthouse, not far from the nation’s capital. Nichola Roske was sentenced for the attempted assassination of at least one Supreme Court associate justice. On June 8, 2022, Roske flew across the country—California to Virginia—and then traveled by cab to the Maryland address of Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Roske arrived armed with a laser-sighted handgun, knife, lock picking set, duct tape, hammer, crowbar, and tactical gear. In his on-line research before the cross-country flight, Roske searched for information on conservative justices, mass shooters, and techniques for hurting people with knives, including the question:…
This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
August 25, 2025
This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
By: George Calhoun
Bankruptcy continues as a favored vehicle for the resolution of mass-tort claims, particularly asbestos-based claims. In two recent cases in Delaware, an often-overlooked issue has raised a red flag concerning the fairness of the trusts proposed in many of these cases. The plan proponents in those cases proposed asbestos trusts that provided that foreign claimants were not eligible for payment. It is a foundational principle…
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
July 29, 2025
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
By: James Trusty
Americans are used to a considerable level of dirty tricks when it comes to politics. Occasionally, however, a legal line is crossed and a high-level official is either chased out of office, subjected to a criminal prosecution, or both. Ask Richard Nixon, Marvin Mandel, and Bob Menendez. Despite the predictable proclamation from prominent democrats that DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard’s referral is “old news” and “politically…
The Struggle to Revive ‘Honest Services’
November 16, 2010
The Struggle to Revive ‘Honest Services’
By: Ifrah Law
On November 16, 2010, the Los Angeles-based Daily Journal published an article by Jeffrey Hamlin, an associate at Ifrah PLLC, on a recent U.S. District Court ruling. The following is the full text of the article. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the much-watched case of former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling, limited the federal “honest services” statute to traditional or “paradigmatic” bribery and…
Did Drug Company Lawyer Make False Statements to FDA?
November 10, 2010
Did Drug Company Lawyer Make False Statements to FDA?
By: Ifrah Law
When regulatory agencies ask major corporations to hand over documents to them as part of an ongoing investigation, there’s normally a pretty clear understanding of how things work: if the agency doesn’t receive the full set of documents it is asking for, it negotiates with the company, or ratchets up the urgency of the request, or goes to court to enforce a subpoena. What it…
Settlement Indicates Widespread Abuse of SBA Preference Programs
November 5, 2010
Settlement Indicates Widespread Abuse of SBA Preference Programs
By: Ifrah Law
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice settled a case with a Maryland company that shows, yet again, how common it is for companies to abuse the preference programs that the Small Business Administration runs. In this case, it was the SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program that was the target. Beltsville, Md.-based CSI Engineering and CSI Design Build – along with their president,…
GTSI Settlement Could Mark Crackdown on Contracting Abuses
November 3, 2010
GTSI Settlement Could Mark Crackdown on Contracting Abuses
By: Ifrah Law
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced a tough settlement with GTSI Corp., one of the nation’s largest government contractors. GTSI, which had been accused of improperly obtaining contracts that are meant for small businesses, avoided a one-year suspension from new work for the federal government. But two of its top executives are stepping down, three others are suspended, and the company has agreed to…
In Federal Sentencing, Age Begins to Matter
October 29, 2010
In Federal Sentencing, Age Begins to Matter
By: Ifrah Law
On November 1, 2010, a new amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines will go into effect that will allow a judge to consider a defendant’s age far more often than before in handing down a sentence in federal court. We think this change will have a major impact on sentencing in white-collar criminal cases. Defendants in financial crimes tend to be older, so even a…
