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Landmark Nebraska Decision
On May 12, 2005, a federal trial judge in Nebraska struck down what has been called the most extreme of the anti-gay family laws in the nation. Citizens for Equal Protection, Inc., v. Bruning, – F. Supp. 2nd – , 2005 WL 1126834 (D. Neb. 2005). Passed by Nebraska voters in 2000, the ballot initiative that was known as “Measure 416″ became Section 29 of the Bill of Rights of the Nebraska constitution. In addition to limiting marriage to a man and a woman, the measure provided that the “uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Nebraska.”
Plaintiffs challenged the law under the United States Constitution as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the prohibition on Bills of Attainder. The equal protection claim rested in part on the United States Supreme Court's analysis in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), in which the Court struck down an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that barred any laws that protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Plaintiffs argued that for the purpose of equal protection the Colorado and Nebraska provisions could not be distinguished, and the Court agreed. The Bill of Attainder claim rested in part on the assertion that Section 29 was a law that singled out lesbians and gay men for punishment, and the Court here also agreed.
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.