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In The Courts
Fifth Circuit Holds That Plea Agreement Defines Scope of Conduct for Restitution Purposes
In United States v. Adams, 2004 WL 435053 (5th Cir. Mar. 10, 2004), the Fifth Circuit held that the restitution properly awarded under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act should be defined by the scope of the conduct agreed to in the plea agreement rather than by the conduct charged in the indictment. In Adams, the defendant had been charged with conspiracy to mail fraud, wire fraud, and interstate carrier fraud after allegedly orchestrating car accidents to collect insurance proceeds. The defendant refused to agree that the accidents had been staged, but pleaded guilty to a narrower scheme of exacerbating the damage after accidents had occurred. The district court imposed restitution for the full value of the damage caused by the car accidents. The Fifth Circuit vacated the restitution order, and remanded the case to the district court with instructions to order restitution only for the amount of the value of the damage done to the vehicles after the accident. The court explained that for the purposes of punishment in the wake of a guilty plea, the scope of an underlying scheme should be defined by the parties themselves.
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.
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.
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.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.