Published by
Contact Sara or Dan
ABA LawBlawg 100 Winner (2015)
-
Recent Posts
Categories
- Acquittal After Jury Trial
- Antitrust
- Appeal
- Attorney client privilege
- Bail
- Bank fraud
- Blackmail/extortion
- Brady violations
- Bribery
- CFTC case
- Change Venue
- civil case
- Civil forfeiture
- Civil Litigation Strategy
- Classifiied information
- Commercial Bribery
- Compliance
- Computer fraud
- Congressional investigation
- Conspiracy
- Continuing education
- Conviction After Jury Trial
- Criminal Forfeiture
- Criminal Investigation
- Deferred Prosecution Agreement
- Dentention issues
- Detention issues
- Discovery/Brady
- Dismissal of charges in indictment
- DOJ policy and practice
- DOJ Statements
- Due Diligence
- Environmental Crimes
- Ethics
- False Claims Act
- False statements
- FBI policy and practice
- FCPA
- Federal program fraud
- Fifth Amendment
- First Amendment
- Fourth Amendment
- Fraud on the court
- Gag order
- Government contracting fraud
- Grand jury
- Grand Jury Subpoena
- Health care fraud
- Honest Services
- Identity Theft
- Immunity
- Indictment
- Insider Trading
- internal investigation
- International Trade Violations
- Investor fraud
- Joint Defense Agreements
- Jury issues
- Kickbacks
- Lacey Act
- Legal profession
- Mail Fraud
- Marketing
- Money Laundering
- Non-Prosecution Agreement
- Obstruction
- OIG investigations
- Perjury
- Plea Agreement
- Policy issues
- Pre-Trial Motions Practice
- Proffers
- Prosecutorial misconduct
- Public Corruption
- Research misconduct
- Resource Guide
- Restitution
- Reversal
- RICO
- Search warrant
- SEC Investigation
- SEC policy and practice
- SEC Settlement
- Securities fraud
- Sentencing
- Speedy Trial Act
- Statute of Limitations
- Tax fraud
- Trade Secrets
- Travel Act
- Trial preparation
- Trials
- Uncategorized
- Venue
- Wire Fraud
- Wiretaps
- Witness tampering
Archives
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
Category Archives: Sentencing
Sweet Release: Alternatives to Incarceration
By Dan Portnov Last week convicted and newly accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found injured in his cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), while awaiting his trial. This came shortly after his attorneys lost their bid to have … Continue reading
Posted in Bail, Pre-Trial Motions Practice, Sentencing
1 Comment
Concurrent, Consecutive and “Stacked” Sentences: Why One Word Makes a Big Difference at Sentencing
A judge says a lot of things during a sentencing. Two of them are really, really important. First is the number of months in prison. “One hundred twenty” is a lot different from “a year and a day.” Second is … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
1 Comment
In Your Client’s Words – Speaking at Sentencing
“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” – Bryan Stevenson The fundamental truth of Mr. Stevenson’s quote is tested every time a defendant is sentenced after conviction. Too often, prosecutors act at sentencing as though … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
Leave a comment
New Sentencing Guidelines Amendments Have Two Good Provisions for White Collar Criminal Defendants (and Lawyers)
On November 1, 2018, several new amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines went into effect. Two of them are quite positive developments for defendants—and their lawyers—in white-collar criminal cases. As a procedural matter, the new amendments were proposed by the U.S. … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
1 Comment
Can Michael Cohen Reject a Presidential Pardon? Yes. But Would He?
On August 21, 2018, former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts, including campaign finance fraud. During his plea hearing, Cohen implicated the President in the crime, saying that Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels (a) at … Continue reading
Why Isn’t Michael Cohen Getting a Cooperation Agreement? (Part Two)
Last week, I wrote about the somewhat surprising fact that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty, allocated at the plea hearing that President Trump directed him to make an illegal campaign donation, and yet didn’t have a written cooperation agreement. In fact, … Continue reading
Why Isn’t Michael Cohen Getting a Cooperation Agreement? (Spoiler: He Probably Is) (Part One)
Much was made this week of the fact that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty without a written cooperation agreement. He pleaded guilty to multiple federal offenses, including tax fraud, campaign finance violations and bank fraud. The guidelines range … Continue reading
Lawyers as Filmmakers: The Sentencing Mitigation Film
By Dan Portnov Every CLE panel on sentencing includes a judge. And often the judge emphasizes the importance of presenting your client as a person and not just a defendant. That can be a challenge at a sentencing hearing unless … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
2 Comments
“Restitution for a Reckless Bank? A Dubious Remedy Indeed” – Judge Posner’s Bank of America Smackdown
Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit—love him or hate him—just wrote a(nother) scathing opinion. He remanded a criminal restitution order, concluding that Bank of America was not entitled to any restitution for fraudulent mortgage loans because of the bank’s … Continue reading
Posted in Appeal, Restitution, Sentencing
Leave a comment
Prosecutors Take Fair Approach to Sentencing in Fraud Case Against Executive (No, This Is Not Clickbait.)
As I’ve written about many times before, the loss amount drives many white-collar criminal sentences. The government’s view of loss amount plays a significant role in the court’s ultimate determination of that factor. the government often takes a very aggressive … Continue reading
