By: Sara Kropf In Part I of this series, I pointed out that DOJ uses the media as a tool to punish defendants. It publicizes indictments, without equally publicizing acquittals and dismissals. This post is the second in a series exploring how defense lawyers are...
By: Sara Kropf In North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. United States, the Third Circuit addressed another interesting legal issue that arose within the Bridgegate scandal in New Jersey. You can read more about that case here. The media’s right to access information about...
By: Sara Kropf Dear Governor McDonnell’s Legal Team: As you probably know, the government decided not to retry Governor Bob McDonnell yesterday. This is big news. It follows his victory in the Supreme Court. He won. You won. Was this the best paragraph you've ever...
By: Sara Kropf Like most defense attorneys, I welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in the McDonnell case. The Court vacated former Governor McDonnell’s convictions for Hobbs Act extortion and honest services fraud and remanded the case to the Fourth...
By: Sara Kropf Seeking revenge against political opponents is a time-honored American tradition. Why is the Department of Justice contending that it is a crime? Three former high-ranking officials in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have been implicated...
By: Sara Kropf Yesterday a jury in Richmond found former Governor Robert McDonnell and his wife guilty of public corruption. Here are the details of it. I’m sure many others will offer in-depth analysis of the verdict in the coming days. Here are my initial thoughts...
By: Sara Kropf If you don’t know what the California Public Employees Retirement System (“CalPERS”) is, you should. It is the second-largest public pension fund in the country. It is responsible for operating the pension benefit system and health care benefit system...
By: Sara Kropf For years now, the calling card of a big-firm white-collar lawyer has been, “I do FCPA work.” But all the focus on foreign bribery work overlooks the domestic bribery schemes that are regularly pursued by the federal government. FCPA work may sound...
By: Sara Kropf I know the public gets sick of lawyers and our filings and our appeals. I don’t. Because when you are a criminal defense lawyer, your job is to be dogged and relentless. We don’t give up. We exhaust every possibility. This is not commercial litigation....