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Supreme Court’s Holding in “Bridgegate” Clarifies the Use of the Federal Fraud Statutes to Address Political Corruption
New Jersey may be the home of The Boss and Bon Jovi, but the Garden State is notorious for another reason: its history of political corruption. Maybe that’s why people weren’t surprised when then-governor Chris Christie’s administration was thrust into the national...
COVID-19, Compassionate Release, and the CARES Act: Prison Release in the Pandemic
At first glance, Death Row Records co-founder Michael Harris, notorious “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, and Ponzi scheme king Bernie Madoff may not seem to have much in common. However, all three men recently sought to reduce their lengthy federal prison sentences...
Schemes, Scams and Swindles: Legal Challenges During the COVID Crisis (Law.com, The Recorder)
This article was originally published in the May 14, 2020 issue of Law.com's The Recorder, available here. Keith Middlebrook promised investors he was developing a cure to the coronavirus, and he claimed it was coming soon. He created a phony company, Quantum...
What Does the Ninth Circuit’s Holding in Miller Mean for Wire Fraud Prosecutions?
On March 20, 2020, the Ninth Circuit ruled in United States v. Miller, 2020 WL 1317275 (9th Cir.) that wire fraud requires the intent to deceive and to cheat, i.e., to deprive a victim of money or property by means of deception, overruling United States v....
Second Circuit Holds that Personal Benefit is Not Required for Insider Trading
Insider trading, or “securities fraud,” is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1348 and 15 U.S.C. § 10(b) As the Supreme Court explained in Dirks v. SEC, someone engages in insider trading under §10(b) if they breach a fiduciary duty by disclosing material, nonpublic...
Ninth Circuit Holds That an Inability to Perform is Not a Defense to Bribery
California, cannabis, and corruption recently squared off in United States v. Kimbrew. The Ninth Circuit’s holding in United States v. Kimbrew, 2019 WL 6693744 (9th Cir. Dec. 9, 2019) clarified the reach of the federal bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 201, which requires...
San Francisco Magazine Names Its Top Women Attorneys in Northern California
The December 2019 issue of San Francisco Magazine features its annual list of Top Women Attorneys of Northern California based on Super Lawyers’ rankings. Jayne Law Group is proud to announce that founder Julia Jayne has been selected as a member of the Top Women...
California Supreme Court Narrows Exception to the Fourth Amendment’s Warrant Requirement
On November 25, 2019, the California Supreme Court overturned a 17-year-old exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. People v. Lopez holds “that the desire to obtain a driver’s identification following a traffic stop does not constitute an independent,...
Theft of Trade Secrets: The Economic Espionage Act, China Initiative, and Silicon Valley
This article was originally published in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's White Collar Crime issue of The Champion, available here. Prosecutions alleging theft of trade secrets have been creeping upward since 2009. White collar practitioners must...
What is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act?
Background In 1986, Congress enacted the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA. The Act, codified in 18 U.S.C. § 1030, criminalizes unauthorized access of “any protected computer.” A “protected computer" is a “computer used in or affecting interstate or foreign...