2010 News of Interest

One thing is clear about the practice we call white collar criminal defense – it is constantly changing and evolving! The issues are increasingly complex and the press coverage more intense than ever before. This page contains breaking news, cutting edge developments, and scholarship from 2010.

"Opinion: You Might Be Committing a Federal Crime," Special to AOL News by NACDL's Shana-Tara Regon, December 17, 2010.

"Yet, Again, In Insider-Trading Case, It's All About the Wiretaps," The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2010.

"DOJ Suit Against BP Creates 'Tricky' Parallel Proceeding," The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, December 15, 2010.

"The Difficulty of Proving Financial Crimes," The New York Times, December 13, 2010.

James R. Copland, Regulation by Prosecution: The Problems with Treating Corporations as Criminals, December 2010.

"Overcriminalization on Appeal - Notable concurrence from Chief Judge Kozinski as Ninth Circuit Reverses White Collar Conviction," Sentencing Law & Policy Blog, December 10, 2010. [Full opinion and more coverage here].

"Holder Pushes Back Against News Reports on Prosecutorial Misconduct," Main Justice, December 10, 2010. [Note: response to USA Today "Justice in the balance" investigation series].

"9th Circuit Orders Firms to Turn Over Documents in Price Fixing Case," The Recorder, December 7, 2010.

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Mike Koehler, The Facade of FCPA Enforcement, November 2010.

Alafair S. Burke, Talking About Prosecutors, 2010.

"Muddy Waters of Research and Insider Trading," The New York Times Dealbook, December 1, 2010.

"The growing criminalization of American politics," The Daily Caller, November 30, 2010.

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Kyle O'Dowd, Shana-Tara Regon and Michael Price, Notes from the Defense Bar: Fighting for Reform on Three Fronts During the Obama Administration, Federal Sentencing Reporter (December 2010).

Carlos Gomez-Jara Diez, Corporate Culpability as a Limit to the Overcriminalization of Corporate Criminal Liability: The Interplay between Self-Regulation, Corporate Compliance and Corporate Citizenship, October 2010.

The Sentencing Project, Deterrence in Criminal Justice, November 2010.

"Ted Stevens Prosecutors Appeal Civil Contempt Finding," The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, November 12, 2010.

"How a Fraud's Value Affects Prison Time," The Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2010.

Christopher Slobogin, Citizens United and Corporate and Human Crime, October 2010.

Mike Koehler, A Conversation with Richard Alderman - Director of the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office, October 4, 2010.

Press Release, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC Proposes New Whistleblower Program Under Dodd-Frank Act," November 3, 2010.

"U.S. Chamber of Commerce Calls for Reform of FCPA," Main Justice, October 27, 2010.

"Sorkin: So What Is Insider Trading?," The New York Times DealBook, October 25, 2010.

"Constitutional Clash Hangs Over Corruption Case," The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, October 22, 2010.

"Federal Judge Refutes Justice Department's Criticism Over Sentencing," The New York Law Journal, October 20, 2010.

"Drugmaker CEOs May Be Targets for U.S. FDA in Off-Label Cases, Lawyers Say," Bloomberg, October 14, 2010.

Bruce Green, Thinking About White-Collar Crime and Punishment, October 2010. 

"Lawyers on Both Sides of the Pond Gear Up for New U.K. Bribery Law," The American Lawyer, October 6, 2010.

"CFTC Gets Tough on Fraud," The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, October 6, 2010.

"Prosecutorial Misconduct Is Rarely Punished, Says New Study," The National Law Journal, October 5, 2010.

"The Truth Police," Law.com, October 4, 2010.

"Congress looks at laws that criminalize non-criminal behavior," The Miami Herald, October 3, 2010.

Blog Posts Covering NACDL's 6th Annual Defending the White Collar Case Seminar, by NACDL Members, White Collar Crime Prof Blog 

"Wasted lives, wasted money: The offense of overcriminalization," TheHill.com, September 24, 2010. [op-ed by NACDL President Jim E. Lavine]

"Justice in the balance - USA Today Investigation," USA Today, September 22, 2010.

"Antifraud Officials Defend Recent Enforcement Record," The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, September 22, 2010.

"What GCs Need to Know After EU Court Limits Attorney-Client Privilege for In-House Counsel," Corporate Counsel, September 17, 2010.

"Appeals Court Guts Landmark Computer-Privacy Ruling," Wired.com, September 13, 2010.

Ellen S. Podgor, Pleading Blindly, September 2010. 

Bruce A. Green, Beyond Training Prosecutors About Their Disclosure Obligations: Can Prosecutors' Offices Learn From Their Lawyers' Mistakes?, September 2010. 

"Commentary: When freeing criminal defendants is conservative," The National Law Journal, September 8, 2010.

"Defense Lawyers & Others Sue Feds Over Border Searches of Laptops, Other Electronic Devices," ABA Journal, September 7, 2010. [Additional coverage from The Washington Post]

"DOJ, FBI Investigation Manuals Sought in FCPA Case," The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, September 7, 2010.

"Fraud Ruling Is Reshaping Federal Cases," The New York Times, August 25, 2010.

"Is 'Private' Data on Social Networks Discoverable?" The National Law Journal, August 25, 2010.

Sara Sun Beale, An Honest Services Debate, August 2010. 

Colin Miller, Deal or No Deal: Why Courts Should Allow Defendants to Present Evidence that They Rejected Favorable Plea Bargains, August 2010. 

"9th Circuit: Stolen Valor Act Unconstitutional," The Associated Press, August 18, 2010.

R. Michael Cassidy, Some Reflections on Ethics and Plea Bargaining: An Essay in Honor of Fred Zacharias, July 2010. 

Samuel W. Buell, The Court's Fraud Dud, August 2010. 

"Freedom of Information Act exemption for SEC stirs protests," Politico, August 11, 2010.

"Ted Stevens Became a Symbol for Prosecutorial Misconduct," The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, August 10, 2010.

"Lawyers prepare to reopen 'honest services' cases in wake of Supreme Court ruling," The Washington Post, August 9, 2010.

"S.E.C. Said to See New Limits on Its Disclosures," The New York Times, July 28, 2010.

"S.E.C. Expands Process for Public Comments on New Financial Rules," The New York Times, July 27, 2010.

"Holder announces initiative to battle corruption in foreign states," The Hill, July 25, 2010.

Sarah Hody and Martin Kwedar, Stock-Option Backdating Cases Reflect Costs of Overcriminalization, July 23, 2010. 

"Rough Justice in America - Too many laws, too many prisoners," The Economist, July 22, 2010.

"Rough Justice in America - America locks up too many people, some for acts that should not even be criminal," The Economist, July 22, 2010.

"S.E.C. Pursuing More Cases Tied to Financial Crisis," The New York Times, July 20, 2010.

"Corporate Sector Sounds the Alarm Over Financial Reform's 'Bounty' System," The National Law Journal, July 20, 2010.

"Justice Department Calls for Probe of Federal Sentencing Patterns," The National Law Journal, July 19, 2010.

Rebecca Files, SEC Enforcement: Does Forthright Disclosure and Cooperation Really Matter?, July 2010. 

"Senate Passes Sweeping Finance Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2010. [see NACDL resources on the bill]

"Is 'Conscious Avoidance' the Next 'Honest Services'?," The Conglomerate, July 13, 2010.

"What Does High Court's Skilling Rule Mean for Criminalizing Economic Conduct?" The Legal Pulse, July 12, 2010.

"Former Executives' Conviction Upset Over AG's Failure to Turn Over Documents to Defense," The New York Law Journal, July 9, 2010.

"White-Collar Lawyers Make Quick Work of Supreme Court's Honest Services Ruling," The Recorder, July 9, 2010.

"The future of honest services fraud," The National Law Journal, July 5, 2010.

"U.S. Supreme Court Orders New Review of Siegelman, Scrushy Case," The Associated Press, June 30, 2010.

"Sarbanes-Oxley Survives High Court Ruling on Accounting Board," The National Law Journal, June 29, 2010.

Adam Gershowitz and Laura Killinger, The State (Never) Rests: How Excessive Prosecutor Caseloads Harm Criminal Defendants, April 2010. 

"'Honest services' law pared down," SCOTUSBlog, June 24, 2010.

"Report: Public Corruption Cases Dipped," Main Justice, June 22, 2010.

"Terwilliger to Propose New Rules for FCPA Disclosures," Main Justice, June 22, 2010.

"Rubashkin Lawyers Challenge 27-Year Sentence in Fraud Case," The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, June 22, 2010. [click here for a letter submitted by six former AGs opposing sentence sought by prosecutors]

"The Criminalization of Business," The American Spectator, June 16, 2010.

"Jail time for BP CEO?" CNN Money, June 16, 2010.

"Investment disclosure rules for Congress are permissive, confusing," The Washington Post, June 14, 2010.

"'An Extremely Dangerous Game': Prosecutors Tell GCs to Play Ball," Corporate Counsel, June 10, 2010.

"SEC's regional offices present managerial problems, become an obstacle to reform," The Washington Post, June 10, 2010.

"E-Discovery Nightmare Arises on BP's Horizon," Corporate Counsel, June 7, 2010.

"Hillyer: Ninja bureaucrats on the loose," The Washington Times, June 7, 2010.

"ABA & Others Object to Sweeping Law Practice Regulation in Financial Reform Bill," ABA Journal, June 3, 2010.

"Manhattan DA Issues Policy on Prosecution of Business & Organizations," White Collar Crime Prof Blog, June 3, 2010.

"When is an E-Discovery Burden an Undue Burden," Law.com, June 1, 2010.

"When the Law is the Perp," White Collar Crime Prof Blog, May 26, 2010.

"Attorney General Holder issues new DOJ policy guidance on charging and sentencing practices," Sentencing Law and Policy Blog, May 26, 2010. [More commentary on White Collar Crime Prof Blog]

"New Federal Task Force to Target Financial Fraud," The Associated Press, May 21, 2010.

"Is an Antitrust Violation a "Crime Involving Moral Turpitude"? DOJ Thinks So," The Legal Pulse, May 20, 2010.

"To Avoid 'Plain View,' Investigators Need Blinders," The Legal Intelligencer, May 19, 2010.

"When E-Discovery is Used as a Weapon," The Recorder, May 11, 2010.

"DOJ Presses Law Firms in LCD Priced-Fixing Probe," The National Law Journal, May 10, 2010.

"Kagan Says Rulings on Black, Skilling to Affect DOJ," The Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2010.

"Report: Congress makes too many vague laws," The Associated Press, May 4, 2010.

Bill Stuntz, The Demand Side of Overcriminalization, March 2010. 

"U.K. Conservatives Plan White-Collar Crime Agency," The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2010.

"Animal Cruelty and White Collar Crime," White Collar Crime Prof Blog, April 23, 2010.

"SEC Puts Wall St. on Notice," The New York Times, April 18, 2010.

Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice, "Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Launches StopFraud.gov," April 16, 2010.

"Law Review: Getting a fair shake for white-collar defendants," The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 2010.

"DOJ: No Widespread Abuse of Prosecutor's Disclosure Obligations," The National Law Journal, April 13, 2010.

"Sentences Get Harsher in White-Collar Cases," The New York Times, April 12, 2010.

"U.S. Cashes In on Corporate Corruption Overseas," Time, April 7, 2010.

"Major SEC cases in 2009," The Washington Post, April 6, 2010.

"SEC faces setbacks, skepticism in trying to reform its enforcement image," The Washington Post, April 6, 2010.

"Daimler subsidiaries plead guilty to bribery," The Washington Post, April 2, 2010 [see Daimler DPA, Criminal Indictment, and SEC Complaint].

"SEC may require more details of wrongdoing to be disclosed in settlements," The Washington Post, April 1, 2010.

"Prosecutors, Defense Snipe Over Speedy Trial Clock in FCPA Case," The National Law Journal, March 31, 2010.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Antitrust Alert: The Antitrust Division Succeeds in Its First-Ever Extradition of a Foreign National, March 26, 2010. 

Orin Kerr, The Modest Role of the Warrant Clause in National Security Investigations, March 2010. 

"How to Handle Hard Drives in Government Probe," The National Law Journal, March 26, 2010.

"SEC Inspector general raises red flags in new report," The Washington Post, March 23, 2010.

"Insurance Companies Must Fund Former Stanford Executives' Defense Until Court Rules," Texas Lawyer, March 22, 2010.

Josh Bowers, Commonsense Discretion, March 2010. 

"Money laundering to cost Wachovia $160M," United Press International, March 17, 2010. [Read Wachovia Deferred Prosecution Agreement].

"Is the FCPA Standing in the Way of Haiti's Recovery?" The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, March 16, 2010.

"President Obama extends fraud fight," Politico, March 16, 2010.

"Here's Why We Should Not Criminally Prosecute Lehman Executives," Business Insider, March 15, 2010.

Orin Kerr, Vagueness Challenges to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Spring 2010. 

Donald J. Goldberg and Amy Shellhammer, Critical Legal Issues Working Paper: To Disclose Or Not To Disclose? Eliminating Materiality From Government's Pre-Trial 'Brady' Analysis, February 2010. 

NACDL, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Concerning Adoption of Federal Criminal Provisions, January 6, 2010.

"New DOJ Discovery Policies Fall Short," White Collar Crime Prof Blog, January 5, 2010.

"The Real Blackwater Scandal: Another example of prosecutorial abuse in a political case," The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2010.