by bkouroupas | Jan 5, 2021 | All, First Amendment, Supreme Court Cases
Introduction On the night of July 12, 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy took his life in his truck in a Kmart parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.[1] Encouraged by his girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, Roy started a portable water pump that he placed in his...
by Jessica Mugler | Dec 30, 2020 | All, Criminal Justice Reform, Police Reform
Today, cries to “defund the police” or “abolish the police” fill newsfeeds and protests.[1] Demands are not hard to spot—go to city hall or scroll through a social media site, and you will likely find advocates pushing to redistribute some (or all) funding from the...
by Kevin Coleman | Oct 21, 2020 | All, White Collar Crime
In 2016, the Russian government directed a comprehensive effort to interfere in the United States’ presidential election, seeking to elect Donald Trump and defeat Hillary Clinton.[1] Russia continued its efforts during the 2018 midterm elections and is expected to do...
by sgoldberg | Aug 5, 2020 | All, Criminal Justice Reform
Justice Sutherland’s oft-quoted observation in Berger v. United States that “while [a prosecutor] may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones” is but one example of the Supreme Court espousing the view that the unique role of the prosecutor...
by Natalie Puletti | Jul 26, 2020 | All, Criminal Justice Reform, Legislation
As 2019 came to a close, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2534: Insider Trading Prohibition Act (“ITPA”) in a 410-13 bipartisan vote.[1] Congressman Jim Himes (D-Conn.) sponsored the bill to establish, for the first time, a statutory...
by Samantha Piszcz | Jun 20, 2020 | All, Circuit Split
Presidential clemency, or the issuance of relief from criminal punishment, is a power of the executive branch that has been recognized in the American legal system for over 200 years.[1] “The President shall…have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses...
