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
Second Circuit Vacates Sheldon Silver’s Conviction: Parsing Official Act “Quids” and “Quos”
Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the former Speaker of the New York State Assembly, concluding that the court’s jury instructions regarding the “official act” element of honest services fraud and Hobbs Act extortion were erroneous in light… Read More
Supreme Court Limits SEC Ability to Seek Disgorgement
This guest post was authored by our colleague Ernest D. Holtzheimer, an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department, where he combines an active litigation practice with a transactional and business advisory practice. He also serves as an editor of the firm’s Private Business Counsel blog. On Monday, the… Read More
Insider Trading and Brotherly Love at the Supreme Court
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Salman v. United States, wading into the “personal benefit” requirement necessary to establish criminal insider trading liability. Justice Alito, writing for a unanimous Court, didn’t think the question presented was particularly difficult, stating that the Court’s… Read More
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White Collar CrimeFirst 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
Prosecutorial Discretion under the CFAA Gets More Discretionary: US v. Nosal
This guest post was authored by our colleague Jeremy D. Mishkin, partner and co-chair of the Litigation Department of Montgomery McCracken. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (“CFAA”), has become increasingly popular both for civil actions and criminal prosecutions involving hacking or… Read More
VW Clears the Air with $14.7B Emissions Settlement
This guest post was authored by Mara Smith, a summer associate with Montgomery McCracken. This Tuesday, Volkswagen agreed to pay the largest auto-related class action settlement in U.S. history, totaling $14.7 billion. The settlement was reached amidst allegations that the German automaker cheated on government-mandated emissions… 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
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EnvironmentalMickelson Seeks Relief from Insider Trading Hazard
Almost two years ago, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times first reported an insider trading investigation involving sports gambler William “Billy” Walters and pro golfer Phil Mickelson. At the time, the investigation appeared to focus on trading activity surrounding a potential take-over bid… Read More
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White Collar CrimeSupreme Court Takes On “Another” in Upholding Hobbs Act Conviction
The Hobbs Act – a law promulgated in 1946 to deal with the infiltration of racketeering activity in labor unions – got a “W” in its column yesterday with the Supreme Court’s issuance of Ocasio v. United States. Justice Alito, writing for the 5-3 majority,… Read More
