Criminal Practice

  • October 05, 2026

    Crypto 'Godfather' Who Hired Cops To Extort Gets 6.5 Years

    A Los Angeles-based cryptocurrency businessman who called himself "The Godfather" was sentenced Monday to more than six years in prison and ordered to pay more than $23 million in restitution for getting Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies to harass his enemies and for separately stealing from Meta, federal prosecutors announced.

  • October 05, 2026

    Feds Wrap Up Case In $53M Uranium Finance Theft Trial

    Manhattan federal prosecutors Monday concluded their case against a Maryland cybersecurity consultant accused of stealing about $53 million in crypto from Uranium Finance, a two-pronged heist that purportedly capitalized on "bugs" in smart contracts and brought about the end of the short-lived decentralized exchange.

  • October 05, 2026

    Sotomayor Warns Judges: Don't Scare Your Jurors

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday criticized an Alabama trial court judge who frightened a pool of prospective jurors by ordering the arrest of a latecomer to jury selection, saying in a statement accompanying a denial of certiorari in the case that fear can undermine a defendant's right to an impartial jury.

  • October 05, 2026

    5th Circ. Wonders If Flock Cameras Align With 4th Amendment

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Monday pressed the federal government to explain how law enforcement's use of Flock cameras to track criminal suspects without obtaining a search warrant doesn't run afoul of the Fourth Amendment, questioning prosecutors' assertion that publicly observable movements enjoy no protections.

  • October 05, 2026

    Mich. High Court To Weigh Retroactivity Of Sentencing Rule

    The Michigan Supreme Court has taken up an appeal asking it to decide if a landmark decision that bans the inclusion of previously acquitted charges as a factor for sentencing applies retroactively even after a sentence has been appealed.

  • October 05, 2026

    Illinois' Curbs On Kalshi Sports Contracts Blocked For Now

    An Illinois federal judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its gambling license requirements against Kalshi and Coinbase on Friday, saying that the companies' core sports betting contracts are likely federally regulated swaps.

  • October 05, 2026

    High Court Revives Murder-For-Hire Plea Appeal After Hunter

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a Second Circuit decision dismissing the sentencing appeal of a man who pled guilty to a role in a murder-for-hire plot, telling the circuit court to take another look in light of the high court's new miscarriage-of-justice exception for criminal appeal waivers.

  • October 05, 2026

    Justices Won't Hear 10th Circ. Tulsa Officer Immunity Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a Tenth Circuit decision denying a former Tulsa police officer qualified immunity from a civil suit alleging she used excessive force when she shot and killed an unarmed man.

  • October 05, 2026

    High Court Won't Vacate Habeas Ruling After Case Turns Moot

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that blocked a federal prisoner's constitutional challenge to a sentence enhanced under the formerly mandatory federal sentencing guidelines.

  • October 05, 2026

    Mass. Justices Weigh Duties Of DAs, Judges After ICE Arrests

    Justices on Massachusetts' highest court Monday appeared willing to endorse a requirement that prosecutors and judges make formal efforts to get federal immigration officials to bring defendants in their custody to court for pending criminal cases before issuing a default warrant or dismissing a case.

  • October 05, 2026

    Justices Pass On Fatal Drunk-Driving Qualified Immunity Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a ruling granting qualified immunity to an Alabama sheriff's deputy who was accused of killing a passenger in a crash while driving drunk and off duty, then fleeing the scene.

  • October 05, 2026

    NJ Panel Tosses Geofence Warrant, Upending Robbery Case

    A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that police were incorrectly granted a geofence warrant because their application failed to establish a "nexus" between a string of gas station robberies and a potential suspect's cellphone location data.

  • October 05, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel Seeks $750K After Defeating Buzbee Suits

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is seeking nearly $750,000 in attorney fees after defeating claims in Texas state court that it conspired with rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter to retaliate against prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee and two of his former clients.

  • October 05, 2026

    Convicted Ex-Coal Exec Flags New Claim Against Key Witness

    A former coal executive convicted in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act trial has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to delay his upcoming sentencing hearing, arguing he recently learned of allegations that a key government witness in the case "continues to pay bribes."

  • October 05, 2026

    High Court Won't Take Up Maine Lobster Boat Tracking Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a constitutional challenge to Maine's tracking of vessels that hold federal lobster permits, a policy several lobster fishermen claimed violated their privacy rights.

  • October 05, 2026

    Justices Won't Review John Doe Warrant, Trash DNA Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a John Doe warrant and the warrantless collection and DNA testing of trash items used to convict a man in 2024 for the rape of a Penn State student in 1995.

  • October 05, 2026

    Justices Won't Review Pregnancy Center Vandalism Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will not review the conviction of a Florida woman for conspiring to violate a federal statute that prohibits intimidation and obstruction of people trying to access reproductive health facilities.

  • October 05, 2026

    Justices Reject Deportation Risk Advice Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't examine the issue of whether defense counsel is obligated to inform noncitizen clients in criminal proceedings about the risk of deportation present in all related legal matters, including civil cases. 

  • October 02, 2026

    Pa. High Court Won't Order New Rape Trial Over DA Comment

    A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court won't order a new rape trial for a man even though a prosecutor improperly implied the man's retaining an attorney was an indicator of guilt, finding the evidence in his case is so overwhelming that it outweighed the prosecutor's error. 

  • October 02, 2026

    Texas Judge Suspended On Child Support Perjury Charge

    A Texas judicial commission has suspended a justice of the peace without pay after a grand jury indicted him on claims that he lied under oath during a hearing where he sought to reduce his child support payments.

  • October 02, 2026

    Feds Will Appeal Order Striking Down Noncitizen Voting Ban

    The U.S. government indicated Friday that it will appeal a decision striking down a federal law preventing noncitizens from voting and dismissing a voter fraud case against a Florida woman who voted in the 2020 federal election.

  • October 02, 2026

    DOJ Envisions 'Full-Fledged Law Firm' To Combat Gov't Fraud

    The National Fraud Enforcement Division was created less than six months ago, but it is rapidly reshaping the U.S. Department of Justice and spurring an uptick in internal corporate investigations, white collar experts say.

  • October 02, 2026

    Roberts Wants Less Talk. Supreme Court Attorneys Disagree.

    Near the end of last term, Chief Justice John Roberts voiced his frustration with the U.S. Supreme Court's lengthening oral argument sessions and suggested the justices might tweak their format over the summer. But as the new term begins Monday, the court has yet to announce any changes, and advocates see little need for improvement.

  • October 02, 2026

    Former Fla. Rep. Gets 10 Years In Venezuela FARA Case

    A Florida federal judge on Friday sentenced ex-Florida Rep. David Rivera to 10 years in prison for failing to register as a foreign agent and laundering the proceeds of a $50 million contract with a unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

  • October 02, 2026

    Feds Claim Calif. Man Smuggled $300M In Servers To China

    Federal authorities arrested a California technology company owner accused of helping smuggle over $300 million worth of high-end computer servers containing export-controlled Nvidia components — commonly used for artificial intelligence applications — to China, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Clancy Trial Shows Need For Juror Anonymity Reforms

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    Doxing of the holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder mistrial in Massachusetts illustrates the increasing need to provide jurors with greater protection once service ends in high-profile cases, balancing concerns about transparency and independence, says Daniel Schneider at Offit Kurman.

  • Testing AI's Promise For Large-Scale Document Review

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    Our document-review comparison of attorneys' responsiveness and issue coding decisions versus predictions generated by artificial intelligence across 1,600 documents suggests that these tools can offer a reasonable and reliable basis for improved discovery workflows, provided lawyers understand where guardrails are needed, say attorneys at Redgrave.

  • AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

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    The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

  • BIA Ruling Could Make Immigration Bond A Catch-22

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    A recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision refining the way immigration judges assess flight risk, when read broadly, could create a circular rule under which a noncitizen can be treated as a flight risk because they have too few ties to the U.S., but also because they have too many, says Georgianna Pisano Goetz at the National Immigrant Justice Center.

  • DOJ Fraud Memo Highlights Trade Enforcement Playbook

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    A recent U.S. Department of Justice memo that outlines the Fraud Enforcement Division's priorities demonstrates that customs and trade fraud enforcement has entered a new and far more aggressive phase, with recent cases highlighting how the False Claims act is driving the new push, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • First Steps For Companies Facing AI-Assisted Pro Se Suits

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    As the volume of filings by pro se litigants assisted by artificial intelligence tools continues to increase, companies should adopt a consistent early assessment process to control costs while responding fairly and effectively to such claims, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

  • Series

    Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

  • Opinion

    Calif. Bill Goes Too Far In Trying To Regulate Attorney AI Use

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    California’s first-in-the-nation act regulating how attorneys and arbitrators use generative artificial intelligence will likely soon become law, but read broadly, the provisions may dissuade lawyers from employing AI at all, thereby depriving them of key work tools, says Joshua Wurtzel at Schlam Stone.

  • Reel Justice: 'The Furious' And Journalistic Evidence

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    Viewing "The Furious” from a litigator’s perspective highlights nuances that arise when gathering evidence from journalistic investigations, serving as a reminder to not only ask whether evidence is relevant, but also what legal framework governs the person or entity holding it, says Veronica Finkelstein at Widener-Delaware Law.

  • A Look At Loper Bright's Uneven Effect On Immigration Law

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    Recently decided cases in the Second and Fourth Circuits show the disparate effects independent judicial review has had on long-standing immigration precedents since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 ruling that ended Chevron deference, says Danny Alicea at the Legal Aid Society.

  • Resetting For Success After Corporate Litigation Loses Focus

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    Corporate litigation that has lost strategic coherence may barrel disastrously ahead if counsel’s understanding of the matter drifts from the client’s goals, but cases can be wrenched back on track by diagnosing how facts have evolved, determining where resources are justified and deploying practical strategies for restoring discipline, says Jonathan Morris at Gordon Rees.

  • 2nd Circ. Tylenol MDL Ruling Clarifies Court Gatekeeper Role

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in multidistrict litigation over alleged links between Tylenol and developmental disorders, holding that the trial court improperly excluded expert witnesses, preserves meaningful judicial gatekeeping while making clear that judges may not resolve legitimate scientific disputes themselves, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • What Trial Teams Should Know About AI Jury Research Tools

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    Using artificial intelligence for jury research is quickly becoming part of the litigation consulting landscape, and can be a useful part of a case assessment toolkit — but litigators must understand what these systems are built to measure, and what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from their output, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

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