Category Archives: Federal Government Watch
PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER – CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS
How Can Criminal Lawyers and Their Clients Protect Their Attorney-Client Communications From Snooping And Hacking? Lawyers, especially criminal defense attorneys, are very careful to protect their communications with clients and potential clients; however, in the past few years technological advancements have made it particularly difficult for both lawyers and clients to insure that their privileged…
Justice Department Comments (34 Pages) to the Proposed Amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines Added to Michael Lowe Digital Library
Comments to Proposed Amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines by the Justice Department in March 2014
Will The Justice Department Go After Marijuana Grow Operations Using Environmental Laws?
Proposed Increase to Sentencing Guidelines for Marijuana Grow Operations’ Environmental Crimes Supported by DOJ Last week, we discussed the recent statement made by Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the proposed changes to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines proposed by the United States Sentencing Commission. In his appearance before the Commission, the head of the Justice Department…
Major Changes to Federal Drug Crime Sentencing Guidelines Underway: DOJ’s Holder Helps Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers Get Lower Sentences for Drug Defendants
In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (”ADAA”) which formed a two level (aka two-tiered) formula for use in federal sentencing of certain kinds of drug traffickers. This was the first federal legislation passed as part of the “War on Drugs” (there were others, e.g., the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010). In the ADAA,…
Philip Seymour Hoffman Killed Himself: Predicting the Arrest and Conviction of the Drug Dealers Who Sold Hoffman the Heroin
Philip Seymour Hoffman killed himself. Hoffman became addicted to a substance knowing that he could die using it. We know from the continuing, extensive, international news coverage of Hoffman’s death on Super Bowl Sunday that the talented actor first used heroin in his early 20s and after avoiding the drug for over 20 years, Hoffman…
Cyber Fraud Manhunt – FBI’s Most Wanted List for Internet Crime Gets Five New Additions: Computer Crimes and Internet Fraud Very Profitable
This week, there’s lots of discussion in the news media about the Obamacare web site, and the revelation that standard procedures for testing the safety and security of the software for personal data being placed into the system by Americans seeking information at the Affordable Care Act site (healthcare.gov) were not followed. (For more, see…
Mortgage Fraud “Straw Buyer” Cases Are Major Target of Federal Fraud Investigations
Back in July 2013, we pointed out how mortgage fraud indictments have become a big part of federal arrests, investigations, plea deals, and trials and that media coverage will be reporting on a lot more federal mortgage fraud cases after Teresa Giudice and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, who appear in the reality show “The…
National Drug Use Study: Marijuana and Heroin Use Skyrocketing and Local Prosecutors Are Revving Up for Severe Sentences
The federal government monitors drug use — specifically illegal drug use (including alcohol) — in several ways, including research studies like the one just released this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This study, done each year by the SAMHSA, is the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and…
Medicaid Fraud Is Big (BIG) Target of Both Federal Authorities and Texas Law Enforcement in 2013
Health care fraud — fake billing to Medicare or Medicaid — can be very profitable for doctors, dentists, hospitals, care facilities, home health care providers, equipment suppliers: really, it’s a big temptation for anyone who is in a position to file a payment request to either federal government health care program. Which means that both…
Texas Stop and Frisk: The New York City Stop and Frisk Law Just Held Unconstitutional – Texas Law Is Not Involved Here
There’s a lot of chatter this month about “stop and frisk laws” and the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin who presides over a federal trial court up in the heart of New York City. In a lengthy (195 pages) decision (read it here), the Manhattan federal judge ruled that it violates the…
