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SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
FEATURED
May 11, 2026
SPLC’s Informant Program – is Dangerously Unwise the Same as Unlawful?
By: Lauren Scribner
THE INDICTMENT On April 21, 2026, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that works to “create a multiracial democracy” by “fight[ing] white supremacy and various forms of injustice”[1] was charged in an 11-count indictment[2] in the Middle District of Alabama. The indictment alleges that the SPLC operated “a covert network of informants who were either associated with violent extremist groups . . . or who had infiltrated violent extremist groups at the SPLC’s direction.”[3] Such groups included the Ku Klux Klan, National Alliance, Unite the Right, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Movement, and the American Front.[4] The indictment further alleges that in at least one case, the informant “made racist postings under the…
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
March 26, 2026
Overrun and Overreach: the New Challenge to Grand Jury Subpoenas
By: James Trusty
Most criminal law practitioners are quite familiar with clients receiving grand jury subpoenas. There are rituals we go through to figure out whether it’s a “friendly” subpoena, i.e. just trying to get business records from the client to be used against some other target, or whether it’s the visible start of a potential criminal prosecution against the client. Because the legal standard to justify issuing…
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
March 17, 2026
Through the Looking Glasses: Will the Public Accept Meta Ray-Bans?
By: Nicole Kardell
What do a plastic grocery sack and a pair of Meta Ray-Bans have in common? The harm they can do to others who are powerless to their use. A grocer may pack a shopper’s groceries in a disposable plastic bag, and the shopper may be fine with the packing – the bag is cheap for both. But the environment ends up paying a hefty toll…
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…
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:…
Impeachment Trial of Federal Judge Raises Issue of ‘Kickbacks’
September 16, 2010
Impeachment Trial of Federal Judge Raises Issue of ‘Kickbacks’
By: Ifrah Law
The impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. is continuing before a U.S. Senate committee. Porteous, a federal judge in New Orleans, is accused of four counts of corruption. Each count is referred to as an article of impeachment. The first article of impeachment involves what some have described as a “kickback” scheme. Porteous, as a state court judge before he was…
Why Did Craigslist End ‘Adult Services’ Section?
September 6, 2010
Why Did Craigslist End ‘Adult Services’ Section?
By: Ifrah Law
We noted last May that the popular Craigslist website faced major flak from state attorneys general and from anti-prostitution groups over its “Adult Personals” section, which many say was a thinly veiled venue for prostitution. On September 3, Craigslist abruptly discontinued the “Adult Personals” section and replaced the link with the word “Censored.” Craigslist didn’t state any reason for this step, and many observers are…
Md. Case: An Issue of Medical Judgment or Criminal Fraud?
September 3, 2010
Md. Case: An Issue of Medical Judgment or Criminal Fraud?
By: Ifrah Law
On September 1, 2010, John R. McLean, a former cardiologist based in Salisbury, Md., was indicted by a federal grand jury for health care fraud and for making false statements to Medicare and Medicaid. McLean is charged with performing operations to insert stents – devices to treat coronary disease – in the arteries of patients who did not need them according to accepted medical practice,…
