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When is a doctor a doctor and when is a doctor a drug dealer? In early March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two consolidated cases — Ruan v. United States and Kahn v. United States — to address where that line is drawn. Since the mid-1970s, doctors who prescribe controlled substances are not subject to prosecution for unlawful distribution under the Controlled Substances Act unless those prescriptions “fall outside the usual course of professional practice.” United States v. Moore, 423 U.S. 122, 124 (1975). If a doctor prescribing controlled substances believes, mistakenly, that he or she is acting within the usual course of professional practice, that sounds like medical malpractice, but is it also a felony? The court granted certiorari in Ruan and Kahn to address a circuit split on whether a physician who prescribes controlled substances may be convicted of unlawful distribution under 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) without regard to whether, in good faith, that physician believed the prescriptions to fall within an acceptable course of professional practice. See, Ruan v. United States, No. 20-1410; Kahn v. United States, No. 21-5261.
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DOJ’s Cyber Fraud Initiative: A Wake-up Call That Keeps Ringing
By Randy S. Grossman, Kareem A. Salem and Kayla LaRosa
DOJ’s Cyber Fraud Initiative has been a wake-up call for companies to prioritize cybersecurity and adhere to stringent standards. By leveraging the FCA, DOJ has used a powerful enforcement tool to target a wide range of cybersecurity failures and misrepresentations. The increasing focus on cybersecurity by enforcement agencies means that robust cybersecurity practices are becoming a standard expectation, not just a best practice.
The State of Supreme Court Jurisprudence On Public Corruption
By Carrie H. Cohen and Allison M. Magnarelli
In the past decade, each time the Supreme Court has taken certiorari in a public corruption case, the court has reversed trial convictions and limited the types of conduct that constitute a federal bribery offense.
Defending Against Extradition to the United States
By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert
The arm of U.S. extradition law is long. Fortunately, practitioners have defenses at their disposal that they may raise in the requested country’s courts to help either limit the scope of prosecution once extradition occurs, or to prevent it altogether.
New DOJ Self-Disclosure Pilot Program Increases Risk for Startups
By Jonathan Fahey, Jonathan P. Lienhard and Oliver Roberts
The DOJ has created new incentives for employee, or anyone, to report criminal misconduct allegedly committed by companies and their agents. Given their often laxer internal reporting structures and higher employee turnover rates, startup companies should pay particularly close attention to this new development to best mitigate legal risks.