By Sara Kropf UPDATE 4.1.2023 (not an April Fool's joke): The media has reported that Donald Trump will be formally arrested in New York on April 4, 2023. For folks who watch lots of crime procedural dramas, you may be disappointed to learn that most people accused of...
By Sara Kropf Messaging apps abound. Our digital devices capture just about everything about our personal and professional lives. That's not necessarily bad. But then we hear about security breaches and hackers and tech companies using our personal data every which...
By Sara Kropf DOJ’s new corporate cooperation policy includes a provision that places in-house counsel in an awkward—and potentially unethical—position. This new policy formalizes Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s policy announcement last year. The new policy...
By Sara Kropf As 2022 winds down, we want to thank all our loyal readers (hi mom!) for taking the time to visit Grand Jury Target and read our posts. We had over 50,000 views this year. While this number is a rounding error for Google or YouTube's stats, we’re proud...
By Sara Kropf Recently, the Department of Justice asked a federal court to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt for failing to comply fully with a grand jury subpoena demanding that he return all classified documents he took when he left office. The...
By Sara Kropf Jury instructions are a key part of any criminal trial. They matter at trial itself since the jury will rely on them to evaluate whether your client is guilty or not. They matter just as much on appeal; problems arising from jury instructions are some of...
By Sara Kropf When I represent an individual client, a joint defense agreement with my client's employer can be extremely helpful. The company can share information and documents to help me advise my client about agreeing to a voluntary interview or prepare for grand...
By Sara Kropf The Department of Justice increasingly makes aggressive requests for reciprocal discovery from defendants in white-collar criminal cases. Most defense lawyers think only of Rule 16’s provisions for reciprocal discovery. But Rule 26.2 provides a second,...
By Sara Kropf The FBI executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s Florida home a few days ago. The investigation appears focused on whether Mr. Trump took—and then did not return—classified or other top secret documents from the White House. He has...
By Sara Kropf and Margaret Cassidy This is Part 2 of an article that I wrote with my colleague Margaret Cassidy for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers publication, The Champion. Here is a link to Part I. If you would like to read the entire article,...