Criminal Practice

  • July 18, 2025

    DOJ Asks To Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Files Amid GOP Flak

    The U.S. Department of Justice asked a New York federal judge on Friday to unseal grand jury testimony from the prosecution of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump faces a growing number of Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, asking for more transparency about the case.

  • July 18, 2025

    Competence Questions Prompt New Calif. Murder Trial

    A potentially intellectually disabled man who was found guilty of killing a woman and burying her body in his backyard is entitled to a new trial, a California state appeals court has ruled, finding that the lower court didn't properly determine his competency.

  • July 18, 2025

    Wash. Judge Halts Clergy Abuse Mandatory Reporter Law

    A Washington federal judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing a new state law that would make Roman Catholic priests mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse, saying the law likely infringes on their religious freedom rights by forcing them to disclose information shared in sacred confession.

  • July 18, 2025

    Ill. Man Gets New Murder Trial Due To Improper Evidence

    An Illinois state appeals court has reversed a murder conviction for a man for a second time after finding the lower court incorrectly allowed evidence of unrelated crimes to be brought up at trial.

  • July 18, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Gun Possession Requires Control Of Property

    A Pennsylvania man convicted of drug charges should not have also been found guilty of illegal gun possession, the Third Circuit ruled Friday in a precedential opinion that addressed novel issues, reasoning that prosecutors failed to show how the home where the firearms were found was under his control.

  • July 18, 2025

    7th Circ. OKs FBI Withholding Of Ex-Atty's Informant Records

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not violate the Freedom of Information Act by providing only some of the documents former lawyer Joel Brodsky requested related to his work as a confidential informant on corruption and murder investigations, the Seventh Circuit found on Friday, ruling that the FBI had properly justified its rationale.

  • July 18, 2025

    Cannabis And The Courts: A Midyear Litigation Review

    In the first half of 2025, lawsuits taking aim at state hemp restrictions, putative residency criteria in cannabis licensure programs and the federal policy that keeps users and convicted sellers of pot from lawfully owning guns were all briefed in multiple appellate courts across the country.

  • July 18, 2025

    Teen's Conviction Shows Risks Of Digital Forensic Ignorance

    As law enforcement increasingly relies on cellphone data as evidence to build cases, experts warn that a poor understanding of digital forensic analysis and the limited budgets of prosecutor and public defender offices will inevitably lead to wrongful convictions.

  • July 18, 2025

    Seven Months In, Race-Blind Charging Faces Test In Calif.

    In January, California adopted race-blind charging as a statewide policy, after a law passed in 2022 went into effect. Now, seven months into the program's statewide rollout, race-blind charging is showing both promise and limitations.

  • July 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Overturns Ex-HSBC Exec's 2017 Fraud Conviction

    The Second Circuit on Thursday overturned the conviction of a former HSBC executive accused of defrauding a Scottish oil and gas company in a $3.5 billion currency exchange deal, finding his jury was improperly instructed on a now-invalid "right-to-control" theory of fraud.

  • July 17, 2025

    DOJ Seeks 1-Day Sentence For Ex-Cop In Breonna Taylor's Death

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday recommended a one-day sentence for a former Louisville Metro Police Department officer in Kentucky who fired shots into the home of Breonna Taylor the night she died in March 2020, according to the government's sentencing memorandum.

  • July 17, 2025

    COVID Fraudster Says State Can't Rescind Firefighter Pension

    A former Connecticut firefighter who pled guilty in relation to a West Haven COVID-19 relief fund scam says he should keep the pension he earned through 26 years of service in a neighboring city, arguing his crime bore no connection to his onetime employment and did not breach his union contract.

  • July 17, 2025

    Colo. Court Clarifies Virtual Hearing Rights For Defendants

    The Colorado Court of Appeals said Thursday that judges must provide criminal defendants with proper advisements before issuing sentences via the court's video interfacing service, Webex, but found a judge's error in the case at hand didn't cause any harm.

  • July 17, 2025

    7th Circ. Signs Off On Searches Tied To Convictions

    The Seventh Circuit has ruled that a warrant used to charge two men with cocaine trafficking and felony weapons crimes was valid and that a lower court was correct to allow the evidence turned up in the search to be presented at trial.

  • July 17, 2025

    7th Circ. Gives Man Second Shot To Argue Search Was Illegal

    A man who pled guilty to drug and weapons charges when an Illinois federal court refused to suppress evidence against him must get another shot at arguing that officers found the contraband during an illegal search, the Seventh Circuit ruled Thursday.

  • July 17, 2025

    How A NJ Clergy Abuse Probe Will Reshape Defense Strategy

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has cleared the way for a grand jury to investigate clergy abuse claims, bringing forward a rarely used prosecution tool that experts say will have reverberations on the strategies taken by lawyers representing powerful individuals and institutions even beyond the Catholic Church.

  • July 17, 2025

    Former Club Rugby Champ Jailed For Crypto Ponzi Scheme

    A Seattle federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former national champion club rugby player to 30 months in prison for wire fraud after he defrauded investors with promises of building a new cryptocurrency mining operation.

  • July 17, 2025

    Banning Of Courtroom Snoozer Prompts New NY Murder Trial

    A man convicted of murder in Queens will get a new trial, a New York appeals court has ruled, finding that because his friend was permanently barred from watching the proceedings after falling asleep in court, the defendant was denied his Constitutional right to a public trial.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass. Public Defender On Burnout, Bias And Legal Shifts

    Carla Barrett has spent the past 19 years working for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Massachusetts' public defenders. She told Law360 the job comes with challenges both structural and legal, adding that even among her prosecutorial counterparts, her work can often be misunderstood.

  • July 17, 2025

    Trouble Interpreting Nonverbal Witness Dooms Murder Verdict

    Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday found that a man convicted of murder is entitled to a new trial because a key witness against him is nonverbal and interpreters were not able to effectively communicate with her while she was on the stand.

  • July 16, 2025

    Fla. Man Convicted In Plot To Kill Fed Prosecutor, FBI Agent

    A Florida federal jury convicted a former university student of charges in connection with a murder-for-hire plot and attempting to kill U.S. government officials, including a prosecutor and FBI agent shortly before his trial commenced in a separate cyberstalking case.

  • July 16, 2025

    Pittsburgh Defense Atty Suspended After Soliciting 'Teen' Decoy

    A Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney agreed to have his law license suspended after he was convicted and sentenced to up to seven years in state prison for soliciting sex from what he thought was a 15-year-old girl, according to an order filed Wednesday with Pennsylvania's Supreme Court.

  • July 16, 2025

    Gilgo Beach Killer Case Puts New DNA Science To The Test

    The only physical evidence linking the Gilgo Beach serial killings to the defendant, Rex Heuermann, are five hairs that could only be analyzed via a newer technique known as whole genome sequencing, but as the court decides whether the science is jury ready, experts are divided.

  • July 16, 2025

    8th Circ. Backs Enhanced Sentence In SD Carjacking Case

    The Eighth Circuit ruled on Wednesday that a man convicted of aiding and abetting a carjacking and various firearms charges cannot have his nearly 20-year prison term overturned after being given a sentence enhancement.

  • July 16, 2025

    Fla. Panel Reverses Evidence Suppression In Drug Case

    A Florida state appeals panel on Wednesday reversed a lower court and held that evidence from a search warrant in a drug possession case should be allowed at trial, finding that police were justified in suspecting the defendant's home contained evidence.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking Enforcement Challenges Of DOJ's Bulk Data Rule

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    Now fully effective, the U.S. Department of Justice's new data security program represents the U.S.' first data localization requirement ripe for enforcement, but its implementation faces substantial practical challenges that may hinder the DOJ's ability for wide-ranging or swift action, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law

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    Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • DOJ Actions Signal Rising Enforcement Risk For Health Cos.

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's announcement of a new False Claims Act working group, together with the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, underscore the importance of sophisticated compliance programs that align with the DOJ's data-driven approach, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep

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    A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Policy Shifts Bring New Anti-Money Laundering Challenges

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    In the second half of 2025, the U.S. anti-money laundering regulatory landscape is poised for decisive shifts in enforcement priorities, compliance expectations and legislative developments — so investment advisers and other financial institutions should take steps to prepare for potential new obligations and areas of risk, say attorneys at Linklaters.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • CARES Act Fraud Enforcement Is Unlikely To Slow Down

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    In the five years since the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the federal government has devoted massive resources to investigating CARES Act fraud — and all signs suggest the U.S. Department of Justice will continue vigorous enforcement in this area, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.

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