White Collar Crime Prof Blog

New Scholarship - "Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime"

New Article by Glenn Reynolds (Tenn).  SSRN Abstract and Article here -

Though extensive due process protections apply to the investigation of crimes, and to criminal trials, perhaps the most important part of the criminal process -- the decision whether to charge a defendant, and with what -- is almost entirely discretionary. Given the plethora of criminal laws and regulations in today's society, this due process gap allows prosecutors to charge almost anyone they take a deep interest in. This Essay discusses the problem in the context of recent prosecutorial controversies involving the cases of Aaron Swartz and David Gregory, and offers some suggested remedies, along with a callfor further discussion.

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In the News & Around the Blogopshere

David Oscar Markus, Southern District of Florida Blog, A Call to the Judiciary

Sherri Qualters, National Law Jrl, law.com, Lawyer gets home confinement for failing to report
boss's mortgage fraud

Texas State Securities Board, Foreign Notes Scammer Sentenced to 80 Years in State Prison

This Week From 500 Pearl Street

Casey Sullivan, Reuters (Chicago Tribune), Prominent NY prosecutor enters private practice

Thomson/Reuters, Money News, Former Goldman Director Seeks Reversal of Insider Trading
Conviction

Patricia Hurtado, Bloomberg News, Gupta Says in Appeal Trial Judge Hampered Defense Case

Todd Ruger & Jenne Greene, National Law Jrl, Securities bar predicts White will be 'tough sheriff' at SEC

Sherri Qualters, National Law Jrl, Alleged hacker's prosecutor defends case, stressing low
sentence sought

DOJ Press Release, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer Announces Departure from Department of Justice

DOJ Press Release, BP Exploration and Production Inc. Pleads Guilty, Is Sentenced to Pay Record $4 Billion for Crimes Surrounding Deepwater Horizon Incident Court Accepts Guilty Plea to Felony
Manslaughter, Environmental Crimes and Obstruction of Congress Prior to Imposing Historic Sentence

DOJ Press Release, Former Chief Financial Officer of Stanford Financial Group Entities Sentenced to Prison for Role in Fraud Scheme and Obstruction 

Katie Couric Show, Cheating? Lying? Why Do We Do It?

Mike Scarcella, BLT Blog, Prosecutors Mounting New Case Against Blackwater Security Guards

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Irving R. Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Moot Court Competition

Announcement from the Fordham Law Moot Court Board

Each spring, Fordham University School of Law hosts the Irving R. Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Moot Court Competition. Held in honor of Chief Judge Kaufman, a Fordham Alumnus who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Kaufman Competition has a rich tradition
of bringing together complex securities law issues, talented student advocates, and top legal minds.

This year’s Kaufman Competition will take place on March 22-24, 2013. The esteemed final round panel includes Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr., of the Tenth Circuit; Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr., of the Sixth Circuit; Judge Jane Richards Roth, of the Third Circuit; and Commissioner Troy A. Paredes, of
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The competition will focus on two issues that arise in the fallout of Ponzi schemes: whether the “stockbroker safe harbor” of the Bankruptcy Code applies to Ponzi scheme operators, and the application of SLUSA, which was recently granted cert by the Supreme Court.

We are currently soliciting practitioners and academics to judge oral argument rounds and grade competition briefs. No securities law experience is required to participate and CLE credit is available.

Information about the Kaufman Competition and an online Judge Registration Form is available on our website, www.law.fordham.edu/kaufman. Please contact Michael N. Fresco, Kaufman Editor, at KaufmanMC@law.fordham.edu or (561) 707-8328 with any questions.

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