Criminal Practice

  • May 15, 2026

    Atty Tied To Trump Pardon Headed For August Extortion Trial

    A New York federal judge on Friday set an August trial date for a South Carolina attorney and lobbyist on extortion charges tied to his work as a purported go-between for people with serious legal troubles seeking clemency from President Donald Trump.

  • May 15, 2026

    Ariz. Justices Clarify Prosecutorial Error Standard

    The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that when courts consider claims of prosecutorial error or misconduct, they do not need to consider the prosecutor's intent.

  • May 15, 2026

    6th Circ. OKs Immunity In Louisville, Ky., Traffic Stop Shooting

    The Sixth Circuit has ruled that a Louisville Metropolitan Police Department officer is shielded by qualified immunity from a civil rights lawsuit filed against the officer after he shot and killed an armed-robbery suspect who had driven his car into police during a traffic stop.

  • May 15, 2026

    Lindberg Wants Credit For Time Served Applied To Sentence

    A billionaire insurance magnate convicted on charges of bribery and fraud is asking a North Carolina federal judge to apply credit for time he's already spent behind bars at his upcoming sentencing hearing, where he plans to ask for concurrent sentences of four years each.

  • May 15, 2026

    High Court Ruling On Sexist Prosecution Has Broad Impact

    The U.S. Supreme Court's short opinion last year finding that an Oklahoma woman's capital trial was potentially marred by sexist and prejudicial evidence has been cited over 100 times since, and not just in cases involving gender bias. Litigants have invoked the ruling to challenge their convictions over a wide range of issues involving prosecutorial prejudice, bias and trial fairness — but courts so far have been reluctant to grant relief.

  • May 15, 2026

    IQ Tests And Innocence: Doubts Rattle Ark. Death Row Case

    Doubts about the guilt of Roderick Rankin, an Arkansas man sentenced to death for murdering three members of his ex-girlfriend’s family, have grown since a pastor said Rankin's brother Rodney confessed to the killings. His case sits at the intersection of actual innocence claims, false confessions, intellectual disability and federal habeas law. When the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case earlier this month, it left many of those questions unresolved.

  • May 15, 2026

    Calif. Murder Conviction Tossed Over Bad Jury Instructions

    A man convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to up to life in prison must have a new trial as a result of improper jury instructions that were modified by a judge to conflict with actual state laws, a California appeals court has determined.

  • May 15, 2026

    6th Circ. Upholds $10M Verdict Against Detective In Brady Suit

    The Sixth Circuit has upheld a $10 million jury verdict for a Michigan man who spent more than six years in prison before prosecutors concluded he was not guilty of murder, ruling that a Detroit detective could not use the man's vacated conviction to block his civil rights suit.

  • May 15, 2026

    NC Social Worker Wants Resentencing In Medicaid Fraud Suit

    A clinical social worker in North Carolina serving more than 11 years in prison on healthcare fraud charges is challenging her sentence in the Fourth Circuit, saying Thursday that a lower court used overly generalized findings to apply a vulnerable victim sentence enhancement.

  • May 15, 2026

    DOJ Open To Criminal Enforcement Against Pricing Software

    An official from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division warned that algorithmic pricing software could be subject to criminal enforcement if the companies using it know their nonpublic data is going to be used to set prices for competitors.

  • May 15, 2026

    New Jersey AG Traces Her Path To Public Service

    New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport talked shop at the State Bar Association's annual meeting, dishing on what it was like to get the call to be the state's top law enforcement officer, how her time as general counsel for a public utility informs her new role and what it's like to be both friend and foe to the federal government. The Cape May County native also revealed her favorite diner.

  • May 15, 2026

    Va. Resentencing Law Provides Relief To Cannabis Offenders

    The governor of Virginia signed a bill Friday enacting resentencing legislation that will allow people who are serving sentences for marijuana-related convictions to seek reductions for conduct that, since 2021, wasn't a chargeable offense in the state, her office said.

  • May 15, 2026

    Balancing The Scales: Justices To Revisit Sentencing Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court will take a closer look at a circuit split over the deference that should be allotted to U.S. Sentencing Commission commentary, and a man convicted in the killing of an infant has been released after 27 years served over evidence that points to pneumonia as the likely cause of death.

  • May 15, 2026

    Judge Splits From Texas High Court In Jail-Courtroom Case

    A judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has dissented from his colleagues' decision not to accept a petition from a man who said the decision to hold his murder trial inside a county jail violated state law.

  • May 15, 2026

    Mistrial In Weinstein Case As NY Jury Splits 9-3 To Acquit

    A Manhattan judge declared a mistrial Friday on a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein following a deadlock where most jurors voted to acquit the once-powerful Hollywood producer, ending a three-week trial that leaned heavily on the credibility of a single accuser and put questions of consent at the center of the case.

  • May 14, 2026

    Adani Group Chair, Nephew Ink $18M Deal To Exit SEC Case

    Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed Thursday to pay a combined $18 million to resolve the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's suit accusing them of committing securities fraud in connection with a $750 million bond offering.

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas High Court Reverses DWI Evidence Suppression

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday reversed an appellate court's decision to suppress evidence from a DWI investigation, saying the lower court "made the foundational mistake of conflating independent grounds for seeking relief from a judgment with independent grounds for supporting a judgment."

  • May 14, 2026

    Supreme Court Clears Way For Execution Of Texas Man

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the Fifth Circuit's stay of execution for a man who sought to challenge the constitutionality of his death sentence on grounds that he was intellectually disabled, granting an emergency petition filed by Texas, which went on to execute the man later Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    Conn. Mayor Given Gag Order For Talking To Press About Trial

    A Connecticut mayor placed the integrity of a wrongful conviction trial "at grave risk" by speaking to the media, a judge said in issuing a gag order this week, also noting that the jury will be instructed on the importance of ignoring news stories.

  • May 14, 2026

    8th Circ. Orders New Fraud Trial Over Witness Credibility

    The Eighth Circuit has ordered a retrial for a Nigerian man convicted of laundering money through an unsuspecting North Dakota law firm because he was not allowed to include evidence that could discredit a key government witness.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fla. AG Blasts State Atty Over Lenient Felony Punishments

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier this week criticized State Attorney Monique Worrell over her application of a Sunshine State law that allows "youthful offenders" to receive less severe punishments, calling her use a "policy of excessive leniency."

  • May 14, 2026

    Skakel Civil Rights Trial Delayed At Conn. Town's Request

    A Connecticut state judge has delayed trials in two combined civil rights lawsuits by Michael Skakel, a Kennedy family cousin, over a Greenwich police investigation that ended with his since-reversed conviction for the high-profile 1975 murder of Martha Moxley.

  • May 14, 2026

    Tourism Co. Floats Jail For Balloon Biz Owner Who Owes $2M

    A Chinese tourism company has asked a Massachusetts federal court to jail the owner of a hot air balloon business who still owes it more than $2 million from a 2022 judgment, alleging he has continued to flout a prior contempt and sanctions order.

  • May 13, 2026

    Mom Seeks $20M, Alleging State's 'Epic' Failure Before Killing

    The Connecticut Department of Children and Families committed a "failure of epic proportions" when a father took custody of a 7-month-old he murdered five days later by throwing the boy into a river, an attorney for the slain infant's mother argued Wednesday in a $20 million lawsuit against the state.  

  • May 13, 2026

    Pa. Crypto Scam Convict In Custody Over Fake Girlfriend, $60

    A convicted cryptocurrency scammer used a fake girlfriend to convince an old acquaintance to give him money and set up accounts for new crypto investments, which a federal judge said Wednesday was grounds for revoking his release while he awaited sentencing.

Expert Analysis

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

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    Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Sentencing Tips For Defending Crypto Conspiracy Cases

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    The sentencing of Evan Tangeman to 70 months in federal prison for laundering money in a cryptocurrency conspiracy illustrates that defense attorneys representing clients in multidefendant crypto cases need to understand the mechanics of conspiracy liability, loss attribution and restitution exposure before they reach the sentencing table, says Joseph De Gregorio at Sentencing Advocacy.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • Expect US Enforcers' Cartel Crackdown To Continue

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    Since agencies’ coordinated enforcement efforts targeting cartel-related activity have not slowed, U.S. companies in Latin America should assess new business lines for designated-cartel ties, scrutinize highest-risk third parties, and enhance training and internal investigation practices, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Why White Collar Juries Resist 'Honest Mistake' Defenses

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    Cases like the bribery conviction of a Cincinnati City Council member recently vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court show juries often reject “I made an honest mistake” as a white collar defense, but attorneys who understand why jurors convict defendants who made reasonable but flawed decisions can strategize around this, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • DOJ Faces Key Hurdles In Proving SPLC Donor Fraud Theory

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center — on fraud and money laundering charges — illustrates the serious structural questions surrounding falsity, intent and materiality that prosecutors face when targeting donation-based fraud, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

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