Federal plea agreements sometimes state explicitly that they are limited to that one office and do not bind other U.S. attorney's offices. In this article, we discuss the circuit courts' competing approaches to interpreting the binding effect of plea agreements and the Department of Justice policy.
Until the U.S. Sentencing Commission closes the unchargeable conduct loophole — or until the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes — criminal defense practitioners would be wise to take prophylactic action to protect their clients during plea negotiations. Setting forth the permissible bounds of "relevant conduct" in plea agreements can help avoid 11th-hour surprises for the defense.
For good reason, ordinarily courts are reluctant to admit statements of counsel as evidence in a criminal trial. Rulings in two recent high-profile local cases defy the common wisdom.
Courts continue to grapple with the specificity of description required by these warrants for electronically stored evidence so as not to undermine the particularity required by the Fourth Amendment.
Highlights some of the in-depth analysis and insights from lawyers and other practice area experts from the nine LJN Newsletters titles over the first quarter of 2024.
Given the DOJ's limited tools to prosecute AI crimes where no one intended for the AI to violate the law, effective compliance likely will be the best defense for companies to avoid criminal charges for AI-based crimes.
It has been common knowledge to criminal practitioners for years that a criminal defendant's sentence for a crime which they have been convicted can be increased based on consideration of conduct that the jury acquitted. This outcome can make a partial acquittal in federal court into a pyrrhic victory.
Part Two of a Three-Part Series Part One of this article discussed the passing of the Economic Espionage Act to combat the growing concerns surrounding trade secret theft and the criminal components of trade secret theft. Part Two covers considerations in favor of approaching federal authorities on trade secrets theft.
Part One of a Three-Part Series When the international theft of U.S. trade secrets escalated and became a higher priority for domestic entities, trade secrets owners faced difficult challenges in collecting evidence, pursuing civil actions against overseas actors, and successfully obtaining worthwhile and meaningful relief from civil actions alone. These challenges ultimately resulted in increased referrals, investigations, and prosecutions of trade secrets theft under the EEA by federal authorities.
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.
