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Criminal Practice
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July 29, 2025
9th Circ. Clarifies Kickback Boundaries For Referral Bonuses
A Ninth Circuit opinion affirming a California man's fraud conviction provides some clarity — and a warning — to the owners of medical testing laboratories wondering what sales tactics are allowed under a 2018 kickbacks law.
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July 28, 2025
New Jersey US Atty Faces Authority Challenge In Drug Case
A New Jersey man facing federal drug and firearms charges is mounting what appears to be the first formal legal challenge to Alina Habba's continued role as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, arguing that her appointment is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of his prosecution.
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July 28, 2025
Calif. Court Overturns HIV Test Order In Sex Assault Case
A California appellate court on Monday vacated a trial court judge's order requiring an HIV test for a man convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers, saying there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause that the defendant transferred bodily fluids to his victims.
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July 28, 2025
11th Circ. Overturns 15-Year Sentence Over Deportation Error
An Eleventh Circuit panel on Monday vacated a 15-year sentence for a man who pled guilty to drug and gun charges, saying the trial court judge went five years over prosecutors' recommendations based on the erroneous belief that the defendant was previously deported.
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July 28, 2025
NJ Panel Orders New Trial In Attempted Kidnapping Case
A New Jersey state appeals court on Monday ordered a new trial for a man accused of attempted kidnapping and weapons charges after the panel found a trial court did not do enough to address issues stemming from potentially damaging testimony given by an ex-girlfriend of the defendant.
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July 28, 2025
Judge Denies Tulsa Co. Bid To Pause Tribal Jurisdiction Case
An Oklahoma federal court judge won't pause a dispute between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Tulsa County's sheriff and district attorney over criminal jurisdiction, saying the suit can continue despite a pending U.S. Supreme Court petition that could moot the litigation.
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July 28, 2025
Mich. Judge Can't Toss Gun Case Over Form Typo, Panel Says
A state appeals panel in Michigan has reversed a judge's acquittal of a man convicted by a jury on a gun charge, finding the trial judge shouldn't have set aside the jurors' verdict just because a jury instruction form listed the wrong date for the crime.
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July 28, 2025
Remand 'Futile' In Atty Contempt Case, Mich. Justices Find
A Michigan attorney accused of making disrespectful comments "in direct view of" a judge has ducked a second criminal contempt trial, with a split state Supreme Court ruling that, as order had been restored, there was no pathway to continue to pursue the claim.
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July 28, 2025
Trump Wants Ex-Death Row Inmates In 'Supermax' ADX
Advocates argue that President Donald Trump's effort to send the inmates whom President Joe Biden saved from federal death row to the country's most restrictive federal "supermax" prison is testing the limits of the justice system.
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July 28, 2025
NJ Justices Fault Prison Officials Over Inmate Release Denial
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that the state Department of Corrections acted arbitrarily and unreasonably when it denied a dying inmate's bid for compassionate release based on outdated medical records and conflicting physician assessments — despite no statutory requirement for physical examinations.
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July 25, 2025
6th Circ. Upholds Rape Charge, Says Defense Was Reasonable
The Sixth Circuit has ordered a lower court to deny the habeas petition from a man who was convicted of raping a woman at a party, finding that, because his attorney was reasonable in defending the man, he cannot request that his sentence be tossed.
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July 25, 2025
Ohio Court Tosses Sentence In Pot Case Over Phone Search
An Ohio state court abused its discretion when it imposed the maximum possible jail sentence on a man who pled guilty to marijuana charges, a state appellate court has ruled, saying the judge improperly penalized the defendant for refusing to allow police to search his cell phone.
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July 25, 2025
8th Circ. Lifts Online Ban For Convict With 'Abhorrent' Views
A Minnesota man sentenced to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun should be allowed online in accordance with his First Amendment rights, though he had used the internet to research mass shootings and terrorist groups, the Eighth Circuit ruled Friday.
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July 25, 2025
Appeal Clock Starts After Restitution Determined, Panel Rules
In a precedential decision Friday, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that a sentence involving restitution isn't final until the financial penalty is actually set, making that the date when the appellate clock starts ticking.
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July 25, 2025
Texas Inmate Seeks To Stop Execution In Shaken Baby Case
A Texas death row prisoner convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter under the controversial shaken baby syndrome theory has asked the state's top criminal appeals court to halt his upcoming execution, arguing new evidence discredits the diagnosis, his attorney said Friday.
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July 25, 2025
Fed. Prison Bureau Not Violating FOIA Rules, DC Circ. Says
A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday published an opinion finding the Federal Bureau of Prisons is not taking unreasonably long to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for incarcerated people's disciplinary or educational records, despite having a separate, expedited process for medical records.
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July 25, 2025
Abrego Garcia Says DHS Keeps On Tainting Jury Pool
Mistakenly deported Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia told a Tennessee federal judge for the second time this week that Trump administration officials keep making "inflammatory" public statements that threaten his right to a fair trial for human trafficking charges.
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July 25, 2025
4th Circ. Denies Inmate's Habeas Despite 'Kafkaesque' Delays
The Fourth Circuit has affirmed a West Virginia federal court's dismissal of a convicted murderer's bid to get out of prison, finding that although his rights may have been violated by "Kafkaesque," decadeslong delays and ineffective counsel, he was nevertheless able to find resolution in state court.
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July 25, 2025
Conn. Judiciary Names New Head Of Criminal Matters
An experienced jurist has been assigned to serve as Connecticut's chief administrative judge of criminal matters effective Sept. 1, Chief Court Administrator Elizabeth A. Bozzuto said in a Friday statement.
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July 25, 2025
NJ Judge Hit With Ethics Complaint After DWI Arrest
The New Jersey Supreme Court's judicial ethics advisory committee has filed amended charges against a municipal judge it says violated conduct rules in connection with an investigation related to his 2024 arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
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July 25, 2025
Ballard Spahr Atty To Co-Chair Buchalter State AG Group
Buchalter PC announced Thursday that it has hired a former Ballard Spahr LLP partner as a shareholder in its white collar and investigations group who will also co-chair its state attorneys general group.
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July 25, 2025
Will Tom Girardi's Wardrobe Mishap Help His Appeal?
When legendary attorney Tom Girardi's pants fell down as he finished testifying in his defense, the judge had to decide: Was this a desperate bid to feign incompetence and avoid prison for stealing client funds, or just an accident by an 86-year-old man with dementia? And if it really was an accident, does it now give Girardi a shot at winning his appeal and overturning his sentence?
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July 25, 2025
4th Circ. Backs Maryland Contractor's Fraud Conviction
A Fourth Circuit panel affirmed a Maryland man's conviction and 45-month prison sentence for selling misrepresented video teleconference equipment and related services to the U.S. government, rejecting his challenges to a jury instruction and sentence enhancement.
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July 25, 2025
More NY Legal Services Unions End Strikes With Deals
Two more New York-based member shops of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys have reached tentative agreements with their managers after almost a week on strike.
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July 25, 2025
Calif. Court Axes Deported Man's Drug Plea Over Atty Advice
A California appeals court has vacated the drug conviction of a Mexican national and U.S. resident and has told the lower court to set a trial on the charge, finding he wasn't properly told by his lawyer that pleading guilty would lead to deportation.
Expert Analysis
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End-Of-Year FCPA Enforcement Surge Holds Clues For 2025
The last three months of 2024 saw more Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions than any quarter in the previous four years, providing lessons for companies — even as a new administration raises doubts about whether this momentum will continue, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025
If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.
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Examining DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Pilot's First 100 Days
Though the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower awards pilot program has successfully elicited numerous tips since its August launch, stakeholder feedback leaves questions about how the scheme compares to other whistleblower awards and protections — and how it will fare in the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Joseph Greenwald.
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A Deep Dive Into DOJ's Proposed FARA Shake-Up
The U.S. Department of Justice's recently published and long-awaited proposed amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act's implementing regulations, if adopted, would mark dramatic changes to the commercial exemption and new requirements for labeling informational materials, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.
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What To Expect In Higher Ed Enforcement Under Trump
Colleges and universities should prepare for shifting priorities, as President-elect Donald Trump is likely to focus less on antitrust cases and more on foreign relations policy, while congressional oversight of higher education continues to increase, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4
In 2024's final quarter, the New York State Department of Financial Services published guidance on mitigating the rising cybersecurity risks of artificial intelligence and remote technology workers with North Korean ties, and the state attorney general launched an antitrust investigation into Capital One's proposed Discover merger, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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What FARA Enforcement In 2024 Reveals For The Year Ahead
A number of developments, from indictments to legislation, shaped the Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement landscape last year, and following the U.S. Department of Justice's recently released long-awaited proposed amendments to the law, 2025 shows no signs of slowing down, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.
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Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation
Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
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How White Collar Enforcement May Shift In Trump's 2nd Term
After President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, the administration’s emphasis on immigration laws, drug offenses and violent crime will likely reduce the focus on white collar crime overall, but certain areas within the white collar world may see increased activity, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.
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Data Privacy Landscape After Mass. Justices' Wiretap Ruling
In Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, Massachusetts’ highest court recently ruled that the state’s wiretap law doesn’t prohibit all tracking of website user activity, but major financial and reputational risks remain for businesses that aren't transparent about customer’s web data, says Seth Berman at Nutter.
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Expect Continuity In 2025 Anti-Money Laundering Policy
The past year has seen a range of anti-money laundering actions from federal financial regulators, and notwithstanding the imminent change from the Biden administration to the Trump administration, continuity may be more prevalent than change in the AML compliance space in 2025, say attorneys at White & Case.
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5 Notable Anti-Money Laundering Actions From 2024
Regulators' renewed interest in anti-money laundering programs in 2024 led to numerous enforcement actions and individual prosecutions in industries like banking, cryptocurrency and gaming, including the blockbuster TD Bank settlement and investigations of casinos in Nevada, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.
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Rank-And-File DOJ Attorneys Will Keep Calm And Carry On
Career prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice often pride themselves on their ability to remain apolitical in order to ensure consistency and keep the department’s mission afloat, and the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to upend this tradition, says Michael Landman at Bird Marella.
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$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
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Trump Faces Uphill Battle If He Tries To Target Prosecutors
On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go after the state and federal prosecutors who had investigated and prosecuted him, but few criminal statutes would be applicable — to say nothing of the evidence required to substantiate any charges against prosecutors, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.