By: Sara Kropf The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just made it easier for the government to win a conviction in a bank fraud case. It recently ruled that the government need prove only that the defendant intended to deceive the bank, and not that he intended for the...
By: Sara Kropf Brady v. Maryland requires a prosecutor to disclose evidence that is favorable to the defense. Yet many critics have correctly pointed out that unless there exists a way to discipline prosecutors who willfully violate this obligation, it is an abstract...
By: Sara Kropf When you lose at trial in a white-collar case (read: most of the time), one of your client’s first questions will be, “will I stay out of prison while we appeal?” This is one time when a white-collar defendant usually has a big advantage over a...
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 In complex white-collar trials, it’s not uncommon for the court to send written questionnaires to potential jurors ahead of the start of trial. The questionnaires are generally mailed to the potential jurors by the court a few weeks before trial. Having...
By: Sara Kropf The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel. The Fifth Amendment establishes the grand jury. What happens when the right to counsel conflicts with the grand jury’s role? The grand jury wins. So says the United States Supreme Court in the context...
By: Sara Kropf On June 25, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Riley v. California, holding that the government generally cannot conduct a warrantless search of a suspect’s cellphone. The decision was front-page news. Most precedent...
By: Sara Kropf Brent Roger Wilkes is nothing if not tenacious. In November 2007, he was convicted of wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy and money laundering, all in connection with a scheme to bribe former California State Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham and to...
By: Sara Kropf Frank Castaldi’s story serves as a cautionary tale for anyone trying to cooperate with the government to get a better deal. In 2008, Mr. Castaldi turned himself in to government investigators, revealing his $77 million Ponzi scheme. Mr. Castaldi fully...
By: Sara Kropf The kind folks at White Collar Crime Prof Blog let me post over there today (thanks Ellen!). The Second Circuit issued a great opinion for white collar defendants limiting the continuing conspiracy theory. Finally, a court has reined in the government's...