Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Epstein Saga Puts Spotlight on Crime Victim's Rights Act
The significance of the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA), which is intended to guarantee crime victims a role in federal criminal proceedings, has been highlighted in the case of Jeffrey E. Epstein, the financier accused of sexually trafficking underage girls. Because the government's noncompliance with the CVRA in negotiating Epstein's plea deal in 2008 led to the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alexander R. Acosta, losing his cabinet position as Secretary of Labor, practitioners can expect prosecutors and judges to be more focused on the CVRA going forward.
Worthy of the attention of white-collar practitioners is the currently pending motion by two victims in the Epstein case to rescind the key portions of Epstein's non-prosecution agreement — those that barred his prosecution in the Southern District of Florida — based on the court's prior finding that the government violated the CVRA. Although Epstein's death in an apparent suicide now makes it unlikely that the court will rule on that aspect of the motion, the possibility that a violation of the CVRA could result in the rescission of a non-prosecution agreement has implications for white-collar practitioners and their clients.
Crime Victims' Rights Act
Congress enacted the CVRA, codified at 18 U.S.C. §3771, in 2004 "to make crime victims full participants in the criminal justice system." It requires federal employees engaged in criminal investigations and prosecutions "to make their best efforts to see that crime victims are notified of, and accorded," a list of 10 enumerated rights. These rights have been found to attach before formal charges are filed and courts are instructed to "ensure that crime victims are afforded" the rights therein.
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.
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.