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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…

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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….

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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…

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Arizona Immigration Statute: DOJ Raises Law Enforcement Issues

July 12, 2010

Arizona Immigration Statute: DOJ Raises Law Enforcement Issues

By: Ifrah Law

On July 6, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to prohibit the enforcement of the controversial new anti-immigration law passed by the state of Arizona in April. See, for example, the helpful summary in the blog of Legal Times.  DOJ is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prohibit the enforcement of the law, known as S.B. 1070. Among other things, S.B….

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Poker, as a Game of Skill, Is Beyond Reach of Gaming Laws

July 9, 2010

Poker, as a Game of Skill, Is Beyond Reach of Gaming Laws

By: Ifrah Law

The highly regarded British publication The Economist has just published an interesting article that strongly makes the case that poker is a game of skill, not a game of chance. The article notes that poker is, of course, big business these days, pointing to a consultant’s estimate that the online poker market amounts to $4.9 billion worldwide, with $1.4 billion of that being spent in…

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Federal Criminal Charges Dropped — But Reputations Damaged

July 8, 2010

Federal Criminal Charges Dropped — But Reputations Damaged

By: Ifrah Law

A recent Bloomberg News article points to a disturbing trend – a dramatic increase in ultimately unsupportable white-collar federal indictments. In recent years, a growing number of executives have been indicted for corporate crimes and then had the charges dropped. From 2006 to 2008, the most recent period available, U.S. prosecutors dismissed charges against 42 such defendants for which the most serious charge was securities…

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Kagan Stresses Deference to Congress on Federal Sentencing

July 6, 2010

Kagan Stresses Deference to Congress on Federal Sentencing

By: Ifrah Law

In her three-day Supreme Court confirmation hearing, nominee Elena Kagan expressed very few views on substantive issues that might give observers a clue as to how she would vote as a Justice. Criminal law and sentencing issues were no exception, as the nominee did not tip her hand much on these matters. One interesting tidbit emerged, however. Kagan was asked on June 30, 2010, the…

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Has the FBI Gone Too Far in Investigating White-Collar Crime and Fraud?

July 2, 2010

Has the FBI Gone Too Far in Investigating White-Collar Crime and Fraud?

By: Ifrah Law

A recent Wall Street Journal article describing the FBI’s use against suspected financial criminals of techniques normally used to hunt terrorists shows how seriously white-collar crime is being viewed these days.  It also vindicates those who sounded warning bells after 9/11 when Americans were asked to trade civil liberties for the promise of national security.  Those who argued against the slippery slope of government encroachment…

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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

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