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Same-Sex Marriage Continues to Make News
On Dec. 7, an Albany judge ruled that 13 same-sex couples had not been unlawfully denied their right to marry in New York, finding instead that those couples had no fundamental right to marry. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the couples.
The case grew out of events in February that set the gay marriage issue on New York's front burner. After the City of San Francisco made the news for issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples, Mayor Jason West of New Paltz, NY, and several other officials in cities around the United States decided to buck the common interpretations of marriage laws and allow same-sex couples to marry. For New Paltz's mayor, that meant personally presiding over same-sex marriage ceremonies, despite the fact that the couples he married could not get marriage licenses under current state law. West performed several marriage rites over the course of one weekend and vowed he would do the same the following weekend. However, during the ensuing week he was temporarily enjoined from continuing these activities. Eventually, a permanent injunction was issued against him. In West's absence, the weekend ceremonies continued, presided over this time by activist clergy members.
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.
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.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.