The War on Judicial Sentencing Discretion
The face of federal sentencing law, policy and practice has changed dramatically over the past year ' not just for individual criminal defendants, but for corporations as well. Sentencing laws that were stiff before have now become even more onerous, and the opportunities for leniency under the new regime are scarce. This article discusses the legislative and policy changes that specifically impact sentencing for corporations.
No More 'Free Pass' for Foreign Citizens
When a US company settles a criminal antitrust case by pleading guilty, the Justice Department (DOJ) now usually requires that at least one executive receive a prison sentence. But what about foreign companies? In the past, DOJ often prosecuted foreign companies, but not foreign executives. Prosecution of foreign executives raised questions of diplomacy, since the United States until recently was the only nation that made antitrust violations a crime. Then there was the practical problem of how to arrest a foreign citizen overseas. Besides, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) policy was to deport non-violent, non-US citizens instead of housing them at US taxpayers' expense, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) barred foreign felons from the country.
Tougher Penalties, More Prosecutions
Although the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act took effect almost 18 months ago, little attention has been paid to changes it made in the enforcement of federal campaign finance law, including big penalties for violations and sentencing guidelines that mandate incarceration for most criminal convictions. Notably, the Act ' Campaign P.L. 107-155, officially called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) ' has increased the risk of criminal prosecution as well as the penalties.
In the Courts
Important rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Fact-Finding Ordered on Garson Cases
Three divorce litigants whose cases were before indicted Brooklyn Justice Gerald P. Garson have produced enough information to justify fact-finding hearings to determine if their divorce decrees should be altered, Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann ruled in a series of decisions made public March 17.
GAO: New York At Fault
A U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) study released April 20 has found that a majority of states meet just half or fewer of the 14 measures used by the federal government to determine the well-being of children in the child welfare system. No state passed all of the factors ...
Exceptions to <i>McSparron</i>
What happens when a divorcing party with a professional license fails to use it, rendering its value nonexistent? Is the spouse out of luck when it comes to equitable distribution of that license's value? Part One of a Two-Part article.
Deadbeat Dads Given New Life in New York
Many parents abandon their children, leaving them to be raised by the other parent or a third party, refusing to have meaningful contact with them or even to provide financial support. The remaining parent or caregiver may make attempts to bring the uninterested parent back into the child's life, or to force him or her to pay child support, but these efforts are often unsuccessful. So, what's to be done? The caregiver may be forced to give up and raise the child alone, perhaps gaining some comfort in knowing that the recalcitrant parent at least will not interfere in the child's life. But, is this necessarily the end of the story? As evidenced by a case holding last month, delivered by the Appellate Division, Third Department in a Workers' Compensation case, in New York at least, the missing parent can still cause trouble, even years after the child has reached majority.
