A few weeks ago, I wrote about some important discovery motions in the Massey Mine trial unfolding in the Southern District of West Virginia. The defense had a nice win recently on one of those motions. But according to a recent filing in the case, the government has...
In Part I of this post, I discussed how the court-appointed lawyer process works and how to find a private lawyer to represent you in a white collar case. Now we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of picking the right lawyer and how exactly to pay for her. What to Ask the...
The common wisdom in appellate work is to avoid the "kitchen sink" approach. Narrow your issues to the strong ones, so the court can focus on them and not be distracted by less persuasive ones. The problem with that approach in a criminal case is that waiver is the...
There’s no question that hiring a lawyer—any lawyer—is expensive. When you are being investigated by the government or have been indicted, you need a lawyer more than ever. The stakes are high. Losing the case isn’t like losing a civil lawsuit—a loss means time in...
By: Sara Kropf The federal case against former Massey CEO Donald Blankenship has taken a rather unexpected turn—a sweeping gag and sealing order that effectively prevents anyone from following the case. I was hoping to cover this case in some detail by analyzing the...
By: Sara Kropf The Second Circuit today issued a landmark decision reversing the convictions of the defendants in United States v. Newman, an insider trading case. It held that the government has to prove that the defendant knew that the tipper of inside information...
By: Sara Kropf A few months ago, I wrote about a trade secrets case in Indianapolis. It looked like the case was going well for the defense. As any trial lawyer knows, momentum is key. Momentum just swung in the biggest way for the defense. The government filed—and...
By: Sara Kropf As a general rule, the government does not indict CEOs of big companies. No one really wants to say that out loud—at least on the government’s side of the aisle—but it’s true. It is usually difficult for the government to prove a link between a CEO...
By: Sara Kropf It’s a dreary Monday morning in D.C., but I saw this article on Law360 (subscription required, sorry) that brought a little cheer to the day. Last Thursday, a jury in Fort Myers, Florida, acquitted the former division president of Health Management...
By: Sara Kropf You may think of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) as the friendly folks who insure your money at the bank. Or you may think of the FDIC as the regulator that deals with failed banks. You probably do not think of the FDIC as an agency...