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The Unofficial Rules of Evidence
In most law schools, “Evidence” is a required course. After completing it, every student can outline the basic requirements of admissibility; namely, the proffered material must be: relevant, fair and accurate, not violate public policy, and meet basic foundational requirements. Years later when actually trying a case, many of these former law students are shocked to learn that there is another variable affecting admissibility ' a variable never discussed in any Evidence text that I have ever seen. Specifically, a judge's willingness to let a lawyer use a particular piece of evidence is sometimes affected by the technology the lawyer chooses to display material in court.
In order to examine this assertion, we need to start by creating what I call the “technology continuum.” As shown in the illustration below, this continuum very roughly ranks the various methods of displaying trial material in increasing relative order of sophistication or technology. At the bottom of this continuum are “spontaneously” produced graphics (such as drawings on newsprint paper or on blackboards); moving up, there are commercially pre-prepared exhibit boards; up a bit more are exhibits displayed electronically; higher still are models and two-dimensional animations; finally, at the top are three-dimensional animations or whatever else is state-of-the-art at the time you read this article.
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.