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Defining 'Best Interest'
The 'best interest of the child' standard reverberates through countless judicial opinions involving children. Despite steady criticism of its indeterminacy and vagueness, it persists and even expands its legal domain.
The test serves a necessary function in the common divorce case, in which two parents have equal status in their claims to child custody. Courts have to have some standard, and doing what's best for the child seems reasonable. Of course, the words lack all content, and courts have developed more specific criteria to infuse the standard with meaning and a modest degree of predictability. Thus, courts favor the parent who is the primary caretaker and nurturer, who provides stability, sympathy and affection, and who is likely to facilitate the child's relationship with the other parent. Courts assume, with strong support from the psychological literature, that a child needs contact with both parents. The custody choice is sometimes clear, sometimes too close to call with any confidence. However close, the divorce necessitates a choice, and the courts routinely provide liberal visitation for the parent not chosen for custody.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Second Circuit Reinforces Bankruptcy Code Settlement Payment Safe Harbor
The Second Circuit affirmed the lower courts' judgment that a "transfer made … in connection with a securities contract … by a qualifying financial institution" was entitled "to the protection of ... §546 (e)'s safe harbor ...."