Overlawyered » prosecutorial abuse

The Justice Department’s FCPA fiasco

Walter Olson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:29:10 +0000

For the third time in weeks, a federal judge has thrown out in whole or part a prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), this year’s booming subject of white-collar law enforcement. What’s more, judges in more than one of the cases have criticized the tactics of the U.S. Department of Justice in truly scathing terms, just as they have criticized DoJ tactics in environmental and other white-collar prosecutions over the past year. Isn’t it time — I ask at Cato at Liberty — for Congress to investigate? [earlier; related, Nathan Vardi/Forbes] (& welcome Instapundit, Damon Root/Reason, Memeorandum, Samuel Rubinfeld/WSJ “Corruption Currents”, Radley Balko readers).

“Isolated” EPA enforcement abuse

Walter Olson — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:05:20 +0000

Louisiana plant manager Hubert Vidrine has won a rare $1.7 million verdict against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for malicious prosecution, with a judge lambasting EPA’s enforcement apparatus for “reckless and callous disregard” of Vidrine’s rights. Agency defenders say it was an isolated case of a rogue agent, a proposition I examine in my latest Cato post. More: Orin Kerr, Volokh.

New conservative group urges rethink of crime policy

Walter Olson — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:53:50 +0000

Because being tough on crime doesn’t have to mean endorsing the unbounded growth of the prison-industrial complex and the endless criminalization of formerly lawful behavior. Endorsers include such prominent figures as former Attorney General Edwin Meese, Grover Norquist, Ward Connerly, John DiIulio, and Viet Dinh. [RightOnCrime.com]

Tags: crime and punishment, prosecutorial abuse

November 8 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:18:51 +0000

“Dad Settles Suit Against Crocs Over Daughter’s Escalator Injury” [ABA Journal, Knoxville News]
Almost unheard-of: “California state bar to investigate 130 prosecutors” [LEF]
Judge flays U.S.-based lawyer in Chevron-Ecuador suit [Law.com, more, Dan Fisher/Forbes]
“Federal Government Acknowledges Constitutional Limits on Housing Discrimination Law” [Eugene Volokh on HUD dismissal of "Christian-roommate" complaint, earlier]
“Brave and brilliant decision” from Judge Posner points way to provide relief from class action plaintiffs who won’t accept defeat [McConnell and Beck, Trask]
“Referring to Former Boss as Slimebag Does Not Constitute Disparagement, At Least in Ohio” [Robert Fitzpatrick]
“Couldn’t get elected dogcatcher” — actually, dogcatching’s harder than being a Senator [Christopher Beam, Slate]
Midterm election wipeout — for Republicans, that is [four years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: apparel, California, Chevron, class actions, prosecutorial abuse, Richard Posner

October 4 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:36:23 +0000

O.J. Simpson trial 15 years after [Tim Lynch, Cato at Liberty; a couple of my reactions back then]
Hackers expose internal documents of British copyright-mill law firm [Steele, LEF] Insult to injury: now that target law firm may be fined for privacy breach [same]
BAR/BRI antitrust case: “Judge Cites ‘Egregious Breach’ of Ethics, Slashes Law Firm Fee from $12M to $500K” [ABA Journal]
“Confessions of former debt collectors” [CNN Money via CL&P]
Big investigative series on prosecutorial misconduct [USA Today]
“Even with malpractice insurance, doctors opt for expensive, defensive medicine” [Jain/WaPo] “Medical malpractice suits drop but take a toll” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Paul Carpenter, of the Allentown Morning Call, on problem and possible solutions] A contrary view: Ron Miller.
“Card check is dead … long live card check” [Hyman]
“Canada: Deported Russian spy sues for readmittance” [four years ago on Overlawyered] A role model for some in the spy ring recently deported from the U.S.?

Tags: antitrust, attorneys' fees, card check, copyright, debtor-creditor law, defensive medicine, OJ Simpson, Pennsylvania, prosecutorial abuse

Texas prosecutor charges nurses for reporting doctor

Ted Frank — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:26:24 +0000

Two Winkler County nurses filed accusations of problematic practices against Doctor Rolando G. Arafiles Jr. before the Texas Medical Board in April; a prosecutor who was friends with the doctor has now charged the two with a felony, “misuse of official information.” Local and national nursing associations have protested and established a legal defense fund. (Kevin Sack, “Nurse to Stand Trial for Reporting Doctor”, New York Times, Feb. 6; KFDA (undated)). It’s possible that the nurses made false accusations maliciously, but that seems something that could be handled through civil suits and then only after the Texas Medical Board adjudicated the complaints. Such overreaching by doctors could backfire, as it would give credence to the proposition that medical malpractice lawsuits are a necessary check to incompetent doctors.

Tags: crime and punishment, medical malpractice, prosecutorial abuse, Texas, whistleblowers

January 20 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:19:41 +0000

Renewed attention to Amirault case contributed to Coakley’s political nosedive [e.g., Jacob Weisberg of Slate via Kaus, earlier] First time a Massachusetts prosecutor has paid a political price over that episode?
Many, many Democratic elected officials call for rethinking/renegotiating Obamacare rather than trying to force it through [e.g. Barney Frank] Blue Mass blogger: talk radio fueled ire at Coakley, let’s have FCC shut it down [Graham]
“Big Brother and the Salt Shaker” [NY Times "Room for Debate", Food Liability Law, earlier on NYC initiative and more] NYU’s Marion Nestle “loves” being called a nanny statist, so we’ll just go right on calling her that [Crispy on the Outside]
Terror suspects win right to seek compensation from UK government over restrictions on their activities [Canadian Press]
“Men Without Hats. Meaning no hard hats. Meaning The Safety Dance never met OSHA requirements. No wonder it was shut down.” [Tim Siedell a/k/a Bad Banana]
Italian judge orders father to go on paying $550/month living allowance to his student daughter, who is 32 [Guardian/SMH, earlier on laws mandating support of adult children]
Two informants vie for potential bonanza of whistleblower status against Johnson & Johnson [Frankel, AmLaw Litigation Daily]
“Polling Firm Says John Edwards Is Its Most Unpopular Person Ever” [Lowering the Bar]

Tags: Barney Frank, broadcasters, child abuse, child support, Italy, John Edwards, Massachusetts, nanny state, OSHA, prosecutorial abuse, safety, salt, terrorism, United Kingdom, whistleblowers

John Stossel on the Amirault case

Walter Olson — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:22:49 +0000

Didn’t realize the newsman had covered the story (quite a while back, it would appear from the look and feel of the video):

Via Andrew Sullivan. On Massachusetts AG and Senate candidate Martha Coakley’s role, see this earlier post, as well as critical videos here and here, Popehat, Jury Box, and Radley Balko.

Tags: child abuse, Massachusetts, prosecutorial abuse

Martha Coakley and the Amirault case

Walter Olson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:06:15 +0000

The Massachusetts attorney general and Senate candidate poses as the guardian of justice and civil liberties. Dorothy Rabinowitz knows better (earlier on the Amirault case here and here; on Coakley’s prosecutorial record here).

More (via Memeorandum): Bronwyn’s Harbor, No Quarter (citing views of Jeralyn Merritt/TalkLeft and Arthur Leonard); Dan McLaughlin, RedState; Dan Riehl (Woodward, Souza cases). Yet more: on Coakley’s offer to a deal to one defendant on condition that the experienced defense counsel handling the deal agree not to represent a second defendant in future, see Scott Greenfield (characterizing the move as “a deliberate effort to undermine the constitutional right to counsel”), Kenneth Anderson/Volokh, and John Steele/Legal Ethics Forum.

Tags: child abuse, Massachusetts, prosecutorial abuse

January 3 roundup

Walter Olson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:48:21 +0000

“A Patient Dies, and Then the Anguish of Litigation” [Joan Savitsky, NYT, more]
“Kern County’s Monstrous D.A.” [Radley Balko]
“Former N.Y. Judge Sentenced to 27 Months in Jail for Attempted Bribery” [NYLJ]
“ADA Online: Is a Website a ‘Place of Public Accommodation’?” [Eric Robinson, Citizen Media Law, background here and here]
“The New Climate Litigation: How about if we sue you for breathing?” [WSJ editorial]
Saratoga school district agrees to overregulate, rather than ban, students’ bikes [Free-Range Kids, earlier]
“Head of BigLaw pro bono department fails to pay income taxes for 10 years? How’s that happen?” [WSJ Law Blog]
Municipal subprime suits: “The Most ‘Evil’ Lenders Are Also, Conveniently, The Richest” [Kevin Funnell; more at Point of Law]

Tags: medical malpractice, mortgages, nonmonetary costs of litigation, pro bono, prosecutorial abuse, web accessibility

Overlawyered » prosecutorial abuse

The Justice Department’s FCPA fiasco

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Texas prosecutor charges nurses for reporting doctor

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