sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Criminal Practice

  • August 29, 2025

    Banker, Ex-Puerto Rico Governor Plead Guilty In Bribery Case

    Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced and a London-based banker have agreed to plead guilty to a single charge over their roles in an alleged scheme that initially saw the banker accused of offering Garced financial support to her reelection bid in exchange for terminating a regulatory inquiry into his bank.

  • August 29, 2025

    Mass. Panel Suppresses Child Rape Evidence Due To Delay

    A panel of the Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court has decided to suppress evidence of child rape in the form of images on a foster father's cellphone, finding Friday that an officer waited months too long to obtain a search warrant for the device in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ex-Philly Labor Leader Cites Ailing Wife In Prison Release Bid

    John Dougherty, the former business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 in Philadelphia, has asked a federal judge to free him early from his six-year prison term for bribery and embezzlement so that he can go home to care for his ailing wife, who he claims will ultimately die without his assistance.

  • August 29, 2025

    Tribe Says Okla. City Can't Avoid Sovereignty Suit

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation told an Oklahoma federal court to reject a local city's bid to dismiss the Indian nation's suit accusing the city of violating the nation's sovereignty by prosecuting Indians for crimes committed within the nation's territory.

  • August 29, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs $4.5M Fraudster's 8-Year Prison Sentence

    A real estate investment firm owner who transferred investor money to his friends' companies without permission and advertised to his own less-educated Amish community was properly sentenced to eight years in prison, the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

  • August 29, 2025

    Can Trump's Orders Stop The Rise Of Cashless Bail?

    President Donald Trump's recent executive orders threatening several cities and states that limit cash bail would end a "government-backed crime spree," according to the White House, despite data largely showing declining crime rates and other successes in jurisdictions he is targeting.

  • August 29, 2025

    Calif. Commission Admonishes Judge Over Remarks In Court

    A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge was publicly admonished by the California Commission on Judicial Performance after he was found to have made a number of inappropriate remarks from the bench including threatening to "shoot" attorneys and another judge.

  • August 29, 2025

    JAG Corps Sent To DC To Fill 'Critical Vacancies'

    Military attorneys are being sent to prosecute crimes in Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration seeks to beef up prosecutions in the nation's capital as part of the federal surge of law enforcement.

  • August 29, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms Sweepstakes Co. Owner's Bribery Conviction

    The Seventh Circuit has refused to vacate the roughly five-year sentence a lower court handed down to a sweepstakes machine business owner convicted of bribing two Illinois state lawmakers, finding the judge made no errors in instructing the jury or admitting certain statements at trial.

  • August 29, 2025

    Philly Wants Sanctions For 'Appalling Treatment' Of Counsel

    In the wake of a $3 million judgment imposed against the city of Philadelphia in the case of a man who claimed he was shot by police and framed for rape, the city has asked a federal judge to sanction one of the plaintiff's lawyers for allegedly making false accusations that defense counsel were racist and suborned perjury.

  • August 28, 2025

    LA Atty Convicted Of Laundering $2.1M From Swiss Oil Co.

    A Los Angeles federal jury on Thursday found a divorce and immigration attorney guilty of money laundering, tax evasion and obstruction of justice related to a $2.1 million payment he received from a Swiss oil company while working in a government position in Nigeria that prosecutors allege was a bribe.

  • August 28, 2025

    Baltimore Med Mal Atty Appeals $25M Extortion Conviction

    A medical malpractice attorney in Baltimore who was convicted in federal court in April of attempting to extort $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System has asked the Fourth Circuit to review his conviction, saying he was unfit to represent himself at trial.

  • August 28, 2025

    Flawed Jury Verdict Negates Rape Conviction In Mass.

    A man sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape during a home invasion robbery must be retried for the attack or sentenced for the lesser crime of rape because the jury didn't specify which theory it adopted in convicting him, Massachusetts' highest court said Thursday.

  • August 28, 2025

    Wash. Sen. Opposes Full-Term Role For State's New US Atty

    The newly installed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington at this juncture has not been nominated for the full-term role, but one of the state's Democratic senators is already vowing to prevent his confirmation.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ill. High Court Says Murder Case Can't Be Given To New Judge

    A divided Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that appeals courts in the state are not allowed under the high court's rules to send cases back to trial with instructions to reassign the case to a new judge without proving either bias or prejudice from the prior judge.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ga.'s Chief Justice Warns Of AI's Risks To Trial Evidence

    As generative artificial intelligence tools have become widely accessible, Georgia's chief justice said Thursday he's worried about how the technology can be used to manipulate and distort evidence presented in court and what the judiciary can do to prevent that. 

  • August 28, 2025

    Philly Must Pay $3M To Man Police Shot, Framed For Rape

    The city of Philadelphia must pay $3 million to Termaine Hicks, a man who claimed he was wrongfully incarcerated after police shot and allegedly framed him for a 2001 rape while he attempted to help the victim lying on the ground in South Philadelphia, according to a federal judge's Thursday ruling.

  • August 28, 2025

    Lawyer Accused Of Bribing DEA Agent Cuts Deal To End Case

    A Florida criminal defense attorney accused of bribing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent for law enforcement tips entered into an agreement Thursday with Manhattan federal prosecutors that will see charges against him dropped in a year.

  • August 28, 2025

    Compliance Atty Who Duped Lender Wants New Trial

    A compliance lawyer convicted of pilfering from a $20 million line of credit that a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank extended to his tax-lien business has asked a Manhattan federal judge to order a new trial, arguing that prosecutors' evidence is insufficient and that the charges were "multiplicitous," in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

  • August 27, 2025

    Philly Man Found Guilty Of Plot To Kill Prosecutors, Judges

    A New Jersey state court has convicted a Pennsylvania resident of scheming to murder several prosecutors and two state court judges through a murder-for-hire plot while serving a 15-year prison sentence for a previous arson conviction, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Wednesday.

  • August 27, 2025

    Negligence Suit Over Arrest On Stale Warrant Gets New Life

    A Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday vacated a South Carolina county clerk's summary judgment win against allegations that her negligence resulted in a man being arrested twice over the same unpaid child support dispute, kicking the case back to trial court for new proceedings.

  • August 27, 2025

    Colo. Justices Asked To Nix Murder Competency Ruling

    A man who was accused of first-degree murder then found competent to proceed to trial, despite findings to the contrary from experts, is appealing that decision to Colorado's highest court, telling the justices that a lower court used the incorrect standard of proof for a restoration hearing when making the ruling.

  • August 27, 2025

    2nd Circ.: Brooklyn Mom Can't Sue Over Fabricated Confession

    A Brooklyn mother's bid to pursue damages against federal agents she says fabricated a confession that she took sexual photos of her daughter was nixed Wednesday by the Second Circuit, which ruled she has no cause of action.

  • August 27, 2025

    10th Circ. Revives Cannabis User's Gun Possession Charge

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a lower court's decision finding that a law banning marijuana users from owning guns was unconstitutional, saying that more facts were needed to determine whether the Second Amendment was infringed in this particular case.

  • August 27, 2025

    Church Leaders Charged In Forced Labor, Laundering Scheme

    Two self-proclaimed religious leaders forced people to work in call centers to raise millions of dollars that the pair spent on jet skis and other luxuries in a money laundering scheme investigated by the IRS, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Michigan federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • NWSL's $5M Player Abuse Deal Shifts Standard For Employers

    Author Photo

    The National Women's Soccer League's recent $5 million settlement addressing players' abuse allegations sends a powerful message to leagues, entertainment entities and employers everywhere that employee safety, accountability and transparency are no longer optional, say attorneys at Michelman & Robinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

    Author Photo

    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What Pending FCPA Trials Suggest About DOJ Priorities

    Author Photo

    Following President Donald Trump's executive order in February instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, developments surrounding five FCPA cases already set for trial provide a glimpse into how the DOJ is attempting to navigate the situation at hand, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

    Author Photo

    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

    Author Photo

    Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Border Cash Transaction Rule Heralds Wider AML Crackdown

    Author Photo

    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new order for money services providers near the Mexican border to report cash transactions over $200 should warn financial institutions to prepare for the new administration's heightened scrutiny of cross-border transactions and anti-money laundering compliance, says Daniel Silva at Buchalter.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

    Author Photo

    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Include State And Local Enforcers In Cartel Risk Evaluations

    Author Photo

    Any reassessment of enforcement risk following the federal designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations should include applicable state and local enforcement authorities, which have powerful tools, such as grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, that businesses would be wise to consider, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • How Importers Can Minimize FCA Risks Of Tariff Mitigation

    Author Photo

    False Claims Act risks are inherent in many tariff mitigation strategies, making it important for importers to implement best practices to identify and report potential violations of import regulations before they escalate, says Samuel Finkelstein at LMD Trade Law.

  • State Securities Enforcers May Fill A Federal Enforcement Gap

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to take a lighter touch under the new administration, but state enforcement efforts are likely to continue unabated, and potentially even increase, particularly with regard to digital assets and ESG disclosures, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

    Author Photo

    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Deportation Flights May End Up A Legal And Strategic Error

    Author Photo

    Officials in the Trump administration could face criminal contempt charges if a D.C. judge finds that they flouted his orders last weekend to halt deportation flights to El Salvador, which could ultimately make mass deportations more difficult — and proving noncompliance a self-defeating strategy, says Ethan Greenberg at Anderson Kill.

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Interacting With A Designated Cartel

    Author Photo

    There are steps companies doing business in Latin America should take to mitigate risks associated with the Trump administration's designation of several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and the terrorism statute's material-support provisions, which may render seemingly legitimate transactions criminal, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Calif. Antitrust Bill Could Alter Enforcement Landscape

    Author Photo

    If enacted, a recently proposed California bill that would strengthen the state’s antitrust law could signal a notable shift in the U.S. enforcement environment, but questions remain about the types of cases the state could pursue, whether other states will follow suit and more, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Criminal Practice archive.