I almost got fired by Chris Christie. Almost, but not quite. From June 2004 until November 2005, while working for then-U.S. Attorney Christie in my home state of New Jersey, I maintained a deliciously dishy blog about federal judges called Underneath Their Robes, offering “news, gossip, and colorful commentary about the federal judiciary.” Because I realized… Keep reading →
By DAVID LAT It’s Harvard Law School’s world, and the rest of us are just living in it. 1999: ARLO DEVLIN-BROWN writes that you never know where you’ll run into a classmate. He is prosecuting MATHEW MARTOMA (née Ajay Mathew Thomas) on insider trading charges in Lower Manhattan. Devlin-Brown has asked U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe (unfortunately Penn ’79, Columbia ’82) for… Keep reading →
On Monday, January 13, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) will hear a landmark case concerning a bankruptcy court’s power to protect the bankruptcy process from abuse. In Stephen Law v. Alfred H. Siegel, Chapter 7 Trustee, Mr. Law forfeited the privilege of claiming a homestead exemption due to his attempt to… Keep reading →
The following was issued by Brian O’Shaughnessy, Regional Vice President, USA for the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. The debate over patent litigation abuse, and its effect on innovation and our economy, continues to rage. Various interests, and now members of Congress, argue that immediate action in the form of legislation is needed…. Keep reading →
Remember the 80s? Big hair, Dynasty, Huey Lewis was popular for some reason. Well, Judge Jed Rakoff remembers the 80s, and he also remembers the way the federal government used to actually investigate and prosecute people who committed massive financial crimes — Mike Milken, Ivan Boesky, Charles Keating, a bevy of other savings and loans… Keep reading →
JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced today that it has reached a $13 billion settlement in principle negotiated by the President’s RMBS Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Today’s settlement resolves actual and potential civil claims by the Department of Justice (DoJ), several State Attorneys General (State AGs), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation… Keep reading →
This week the Supreme Court, via a one-line order by Justice Anthony Kennedy, dismissed an appeal in Brown v. Plata for want of jurisdiction. Thousands of law students enrolled in Fed Jur and Fed Courts classes this semester may argue that there’s nothing sexy about jurisdiction, even by law’s substantially reduced standards for “sexiness.” The dismissal of Plata, though, has some significant… Keep reading →
Purdue University researchers have developed a new tool for law enforcement officers and disaster assistance first-responders to reduce crime and assist people. The tool is called the Visual Analytics Law Enforcement Toolkit, or VALET. Developed at Purdue’s Homeland Security Center of Excellence, the toolkit software provides real-time data so officers can analyze high-volume criminal, traffic… Keep reading →