Beginning in March 2020, the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit have decided several significant fraud cases clarifying the contours and applicability of the federal fraud statutes. First, the Ninth Circuit decided United States v. Miller, holding that wire fraud...
federal criminal defense
Julia Jayne Named Super Lawyer for the 11th Year in a Row
Super Lawyers
The Supreme Court Narrows the Scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Van Buren v. United States significantly narrows the reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s prohibition against exceeding authorization to access information. Before Van Buren, courts were split on the reach of the Act; the...
Quarterly Update: How California and the Federal Government Have Addressed Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Gun Violence
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a new presidential administration, and shifting attitudes towards law enforcement have reshaped the way the legal system approaches mass incarceration, the War on Drugs, and gun violence. Both California and the federal government...
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....
The New DOJ Policy for Recording Federal Custodial Interrogations
On July 11, 2014 a new federal policy governing custodial interrogations by federal law enforcement agencies went into effect. That policy, documented in a May 12, 2014 Memo from Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and supplemented by a videotaped statement by U.S....
Does An Employee Who Uses a Work Computer for Non Business Purposes Commit a Federal Crime?
On April 10, 2012, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals limited the application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, to violations of restrictions in accessing information, i.e. “hacking,” rather than criminalizing...