Criminal Practice

  • June 30, 2026

    Michigan Pastor Says Forced-Labor Case Targets His Faith

    The federal government's allegations that a Michigan pastor forced church volunteers into an unpaid labor scheme attempts to criminalize his religious beliefs and oversteps the First Amendment, the pastor said in a bid to dismiss the superseding indictment on Tuesday.

  • June 30, 2026

    11th Circ. Says Atlanta Officer Can't Undo $21M Taser Verdict

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a $21 million verdict against an Atlanta Police Department officer whose shocking of a man with a Taser left him paralyzed from a resulting fall, keeping intact a $20 million compensatory damages award and a previously slashed $1 million in punitive damages.

  • June 30, 2026

    3rd Circ. Says Pro Se Defendant Can't Get Trial Redo

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday said it would not reward a self-represented defendant's "chicanery," upholding a man's conviction for child sexual abuse after finding he was aware he was facing a functional life sentence before proceeding to trial pro se, and that a misstatement by the trial judge in his case did not change that.

  • June 30, 2026

    Judge Says BIA Must Revisit Mont. Tribe's Policing Contract

    A U.S. magistrate judge is recommending that a decision by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to deny a Montana tribe's bid to assume the agency's law enforcement operations on its reservation be remanded for reconsideration, saying the agency didn't give valid reasons for rejecting the request.

  • June 30, 2026

    High Court Remands Geofencing Cases In Wake Of New Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Texas' highest criminal court and the Eleventh Circuit to take fresh looks at a pair of criminal convictions in light of the justices' ruling this week that geofence warrants demanding smartphone users' location data are "searches" under the Fourth Amendment.

  • June 30, 2026

    Sotomayor Tells Judges To Eye Waivers Carefully After Hunter

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday urged judges to "consider carefully" whether to enforce collateral-review waivers in plea agreements after the high court's recent decision in Hunter v. U.S., but agreed with her fellow justices in declining to review a decision that may have left an "egregious error" in place.

  • June 29, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Felon's Case Over Cash Nicked By FBI Agent

    An Ohio man who pled guilty to drug trafficking charges will have a second shot at arguing that he should get back $218,000 that was found in his safe but stolen by an FBI agent, under a Ninth Circuit decision issued Monday.

  • June 29, 2026

    Phone Warrant In Murder Case Passes Conn. Justices' Muster

    The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a trial court was correct in refusing to suppress a murder suspect's cellphone data, saying the warrant was "sufficiently particular."

  • June 29, 2026

    Judge Limits Vegas Trip For BigLaw Insider Trading Defendant

    A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge said Monday a defendant described by prosecutors as a "lynchpin" in the BigLaw insider trading case must limit a planned visit to Las Vegas next month to just two nights, saying she also has "concerns about the validity" of a financial statement he provided to obtain a federal defender.

  • June 29, 2026

    Sotomayor Says 7th Circ. 'Clearly Wrong' In Immunity Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a case over whether qualified immunity was correctly granted to two Wisconsin prison guards who left a naked man in an often freezing cold cell for 23 hours, drawing a dissent from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

  • June 29, 2026

    Gaiman Assault Suit Belongs In New Zealand, 7th Circ. Says

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Monday affirmed the dismissal of a former nanny's suit accusing "Sandman" author Neil Gaiman of sexually assaulting her while in New Zealand, finding the dispute should be heard in that country rather than Wisconsin where he currently lives as a lawful permanent resident.

  • June 29, 2026

    Former NJ AG Pushes To End Suit Over Tossed RICO Case

    Former New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin asserts that a lawsuit from a former CEO indicted in New Jersey's now-dismissed criminal racketeering case against South Jersey power broker George E. Norcross III squarely implicates the protections afforded to prosecutors.

  • June 29, 2026

    Mich. Justices Say Murder Trial Needed Manslaughter Option

    A split Michigan Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of murder for a stabbing that followed a bar fight, ruling the jury in the case should have been instructed on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

  • June 29, 2026

    Tax Attys Cite Justices' Venue Ruling In Seeking 4th Circ. Redo

    A father-daughter attorney duo is asking the full Fourth Circuit to rethink their convictions in a $22 million tax avoidance scheme, arguing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that came down just two days after a panel affirmed their guilty verdicts supports their argument that prosecutors pursued charges in the wrong state.

  • June 29, 2026

    Mangione's Federal Trial Moved To 2027, As NY Trial Goes 1st

    A New York federal judge on Monday pushed Luigi Mangione's trial back to January to give his attorneys enough time to prepare, after his state trial for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was set for the fall.

  • June 29, 2026

    NBA Vet Beasley Among Latest Indicted In Gambling Dragnet

    Former NBA guard Malik Beasley has been indicted in the government's sprawling sports betting investigation, New York federal prosecutors announced Monday, alleging that the nine-year veteran manipulated his play to give gamblers an edge.

  • June 29, 2026

    Justices Toss 3rd Circ. Pot Gun Ruling, Leave 5th Circ. Intact

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disposed of two cases questioning whether a federal law barring users of marijuana from lawful gun ownership runs afoul of the Second Amendment, following the justices' recent ruling on a similar matter.

  • June 29, 2026

    Justices Clarify Geofence Warrant Standards

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that geofence warrants, which compel technology companies to turn over users' location data to law enforcement, are "searches" under the Fourth Amendment.

  • June 29, 2026

    Justices To Weigh If Asylum Termination Bars Green Cards

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will review a split Second Circuit decision holding that noncitizens whose asylum status was terminated after criminal convictions are no longer eligible to seek green cards.

  • June 26, 2026

    PACER Fees Will Rise To Fund Cyber Defense Upgrades

    The federal judiciary announced Friday it will temporarily increase the fees for electronic access to court records to pay for a potential $800 million upgrade that will modernize and strengthen court records systems PACER and CM/ECF, an upgrade it previously said is needed to respond to escalating cyberattacks.

  • June 26, 2026

    Wash. County Judge Admonished For Post-Recusal Orders

    The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct has admonished a Spokane County district court judge for walking back orders in a probation case after recusing herself in response to defense counsel's concerns that she had previously represented the defendant as an attorney, according to a Friday stipulation.

  • June 26, 2026

    Texas Justices Revive Fraud Suit Over Criminal Defense Fees

    The Texas Supreme Court gave a man convicted of aggravated assault another chance to claim his defense attorneys are liable for fraud, saying Friday that the doctrine that generally bars criminal defendants from suing their attorneys doesn't immunize defense counsel from tort claims.

  • June 26, 2026

    Mass. Panel Revives Suit On Prison 'Anti-Racist' Book Ban

    A Massachusetts intermediate-level appeals court on Friday ruled that an incarcerated man's lawsuit can move forward alleging he was unconstitutionally denied access to a copy of "anti-racist material," despite a claim by prison administrators that the book's cover is racially charged.

  • June 26, 2026

    Exonerated Detroit Man Says Police Fabricated Murder Case

    A Michigan man who spent more than 15 years in prison before being acquitted at a new trial has sued more than a dozen Detroit police officers, alleging they fabricated evidence, hid proof that undercut the case, and coerced a wounded witness into falsely identifying him in a 2007 shooting.

  • June 26, 2026

    At Angola Farm Line Trial, An Enduring Debate Over Slavery

    A yearslong federal case over forced agricultural labor at Louisiana's Angola prison raised questions about prison labor and its ties to slavery, but ended earlier this year with a judge's refusal to halt the practice despite finding workers remained exposed to dangerous heat. Advocates say that was a mistake.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Reel Justice: 'Project Hail Mary' Can Aid Cross-Examination

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    In the new science fiction film, "Project Hail Mary," a character understood that survival depended on eliminating ambiguity — a useful lesson that trial lawyers can implement by asking statements that are delivered in the form of a question during cross-examination, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 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.

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