The Blame Game: Who Should be Indicted – the Company or the Individual?
Just how wide is the net being cast upon SAC by federal authorities? Last week, I posted about the unprecedented plea agreement worked out between prosecutors and SAC Capital Advisors, L.P. in what could be described as the most rampant insider trading scheme ever charged.… Read More
Elle Woods on Criminal Intent: Ninth Circuit Requires Specific Intent for Criminal Copyright Infringement
In the movie Legally Blonde, upon assuming the role of lead defense counsel in the murder trial of her sorority sister, the heroine Elle Woods sought to skip the examination of a key witness and instead jump straight into an argument regarding her client’s criminal… Read More
At Last – Some Positive Wiretapping News: DOJ Notifies Criminal Defendant of Intent to Use Evidence Obtained or Derived from FAA Wiretap
Edward Snowden’s and others’ disclosures regarding the existence, functions, and breadth of the National Security Agency’s (“NSA”) surveillance programs have fueled debate regarding mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and the right to privacy. One related issue hits close to home… Read More
Another Twist in the JonBonet Ramsey Case: Grand Jury Recommended Indictments for JonBonet’s Parents, But DA’s Office Declined
The tragic murder of kindergartener and pageant beauty queen JonBonet Ramsey in 1996 captivated our nation and fueled a media frenzy for years. Now, over fifteen years after JonBonet’s death, newly released documents have brought the case back to mainstream media. These documents establish that… Read More
The “Effects” of Fraud that “Affect” a Financial Institution
The Department of Justice has recently dusted off the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) – enacted following the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s to protect financial institutions from fraud – as an offensive weapon against financial institutions themselves.… Read More
Bharara’s Insider Trading Inferno – SAC Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay Unprecedented $1.8 Billion Penalty. Will Cohen Also Go Down in Flames?
Billionaire Steven A. Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, L.P., a hedge fund accused of engaging in rampant insider trading, has agreed to plead guilty and pay an unparalleled $1.8 billion in penalties. In response to the indictment issued by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on July… Read More
Ah, the Irony –The News of the World Trial: How the Press May Not Get a Fair Trial In Light of … the Press
On Tuesday, October 29th, a jury of nine women and three men was sworn in at London’s Old Bailey by The Honorable Mr. Justice Saunders, a High Court Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division. Their task: to decide the guilt or innocence of Rebekah Brooks,… Read More
Hank Schrader’s Investigative Tactics Violate the Fourth Amendment in the Third Circuit: Warrant Required for GPS Tracker
“As you’re walking past the car, you look down, ‘Oh, hey, darn, my shoe’s untied.’ Okay? Now, when you bend down to tie your shoe, you stick this up into the wheel well.” -Hank Schrader to Walter White in Breaking Bad In the Fourth Season… Read More