Michael Witsch
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Pennsylvania Superior Court Looks to Electronic Media Precedent to Adopt a Standard for Authenticating Social Media Posts
This post was co-authored by Michael C. Witsch and Robert H. Bender, associates in the firm’s Business Litigation and Products Liability practice group. On March 15, 2018, as a matter of first impression, a unanimous panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania looked largely to… Read More
Senator Menendez to Avoid Retrial on Corruption Charges
In a surprising development, the Department of Justice announced yesterday that it would drop corruption charges against Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The move comes just weeks after the Government declared its intent to retry the case, after the Senator’s first trial concluded in a November… Read More
Fifth Amendment Concerns Result in Overturned Convictions in First Criminal LIBOR Appeal
The Second Circuit yesterday became the first court of appeals to address a criminal appeal regarding the government’s investigation into the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Its decision in United States v. Allen reversed the convictions of two former Rabobank employees accused… Read More
First Circuit Confronts Perils of Non-Custodial Interrogation in Fraud Prosecution
Miranda warnings are one of those things most lawyers and non-lawyers alike know something about. Most know we enjoy a right under the Fifth Amendment and Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), to be told before being taken into custody that we need not… Read More
Yuengling to Settle Up on Expensive Tab after Feds Discover Excessive Suds Byproducts in Water
Someone at local D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc. could probably go for a cold one right now, as settlement negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) have finally come to a head. In a consent decree filed this week in Pennsylvania federal court, the… Read More
Supreme Court: Courts Cannot Bar Use of Untainted Assets to Mount Criminal Defense
In a decision of significant importance to the white-collar world, the United States Supreme Court held yesterday that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel extends to permit those accused of crimes to use their “untainted” personal assets to fund their defense. Put another way, this… Read More
Ninth Circuit Sharply Circumscribes Cell-Phone Searches in Light of Riley
We here at White Collar Alert get excited by Riley v. California. We’ve previously written about it here, here, and here. And with good reason—smartphones have become a central part of most of our daily lives, and contain some of our most sensitive personal information.… Read More
Seventh Circuit Finds Clear Error on Loss Calculation in Trade Secrets Sentencing
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday found clear error in the sentencing of a quantitative finance professional who pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing and transmitting trade secrets. The defendant, twenty-eight year old Yihao Pu, stole expensive and proprietary high-speed securities trading software with… Read More
Supreme Court Holds General Statute of Limitations is Not Jurisdictional Defense
It appears that not even this weekend’s colossal winter snowstorm could deter the Supreme Court from its business, today deciding several criminal cases on its docket. In addition to the landmark Montgomery v. Louisiana decision, which gives retroactive effect to Miller v. Alabama and will… Read More