The Plea Bargaining Blog

I wanted to bring this incredible CLE/MCE opportunity to my readers' attention.  From May 31 through June 7, 2014, SIU School of Law will host a program in Germany entitled "Nuremberg's Legacy: Law, Medicine, & Ethics." The program description is below. During this week-long journey, travelers will visit Munich and Nuremberg to learn about the role of law, medicine, and ethics in Germany during and after WWII. Participants will have the opportunity to tour sites of legal and historical significance, including the courthouse in which the Nuremberg Trials occurred and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, and receive lectures from international experts in their fields. Along with a rich educational program, there will be time for independent sightseeing, including a visit to the picturesque Bavarian town of Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Registration is now open at this link . More information about the program is available here .

The ACLU has an interesting article regarding the growing trend in the United States of debtor's prison.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado accused three Front Range cities this morning of jailing people for failing to pay court-ordered fines that they are too poor to pay. Relying on state and federal court decisions, the ACLU sent letters to the cities demanding a prompt halt to the practice. The ACLU conducted an in-depth investigation into the municipal courts of Westminster, Wheat Ridge, and Northglenn, which routinely issue "pay or serve" warrants without any consideration for or inquiry into a debtor’s ability to pay. "Pay-or-serve" warrants authorize a debtor’s arrest. Once in custody, the debtor must either pay the full amount of the fine or "pay down" the fine by serving time in jail at a daily rate set by the court. Wheat Ridge and Northglenn set the rate at $50 per day, while Westminster converts all unpaid fines into ten-day ...

The New York Times has an interesting discussion of the process by which JPMorgan Chase decided to accept a deferred prosecution agreement from the government with regard to allegations that the bank ignored warning signs regarding the conduct of infamous Pozi schemer Bernard Madoff.  The DPA, announced this week, will require the bank to pay over $2 billion in penalties.  Two men who occupy coveted roles in Manhattan’s power elite, one the city’s top federal prosecutor and the other its top banker, sat down in early November to discuss a case that was weighing on them both. Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, and Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, gathered in Lower Manhattan as Mr. Bharara’s prosecutors were considering criminal charges against Mr. Dimon’s bank for turning a blind eye to the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff. Mr. Dimon and his lawyers outlined the bank’s defense in the hopes of securing a lesser civil case,...

I was pleased to have the opportunity to testify yesterday before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Overcriminalization Task Force.  The focus on the hearing was potential solutions to overcriminalization, particularly regulatory overcriminalization.  Below is a portion of my testimony: " I commend the Task Force for its work, shining a light on the issue of overcriminalization and working to correct this fundamental problem in our criminal justice system.      Before beginning a discussion of the possible solutions to the numerous problems associated with overcriminalization that have been identified by this Task Force during prior hearings, I think it is also important to consider once again the far reaching consequences stemming from the phenomenon of overcriminalization.   As reported by the American Bar Association in a 1998 study, forty-percent of the criminal laws passed since the Civil War were enacted after 1970.   Since the...

It was a good day for the government.  Along with reports that SAC Capital will pay $1.8 billion in fines related to insider trading allegations, Johnson & Johnson has reportedly agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle allegations regarding the marketing of drugs for unapproved uses and the payment of kickbacks to doctors and nursing homes. The penalties announced Monday involve fines and forfeiture to the federal government and several states. The settlement involves the schizophrenia drugs Risperdal and Invega, and the heart failure drug Natrecor, the company and Attorney General Eric Holder said... The penalty amounts to one of the country's largest health care-related settlements, the Justice Department said. It also results in what one plaintiff's attorney called the largest whistleblower payout in U.S. history. Whistleblowers in three states will collect $167.7 million under the False Claims Act... The settlement includes payments to the federal government and ...

According to CNN, SAC Capital has agreed to pay a $1.8 billion fine and plead guilty to criminal insider trading charges.  In addition, prosecutors say SAC will close its investment advisory business, meaning it will no longer manage money for outside investors. The deal still allows the firm to operate as a "family office," with Cohen and others at SAC investing their own money. Cohen is one of the country's most famous hedge fund managers, with a net worth estimated at $9.4 billion in September. He could still face criminal charges of his own since the agreement does not include any immunity for individuals at the firm. Prosecutors accused SAC in their indictment of fostering a culture of insider trading "that was substantial, pervasive, and on a scale without known precedent." The indictment excerpts a number of e-mails and instant messages from SAC traders suggesting they had illicit information from corporate insiders. "What SAC Capital's plea ...

Many in the white collar criminal law community are looking forward to the upcoming movie from Martin Scorsese entitled "The Wolf of Wall Street."  The movie, staring Leonardo DiCaprio, is based on the true story of Jordon Belfort.  Belfort was sentenced to four years in prison in 2003 and ordered to pay $110.4 million in restitution for engaging in an alleged pump and dump stock scheme. Of interest to readers of this blog is an issue that recently arose with regard to Belfort's restitution payments.  From CNN: Despite Belfort's lucrative movie and book deals, and earnings from a new career as a motivational speaker, many of these victims are still waiting for restitution. When Belfort was sentenced in 2003 to four years in prison, Judge John Gleeson ordered him to pay about $110.4 million to a victims fund, in installments equal to 50% of his monthly gross income, after his release from jail. If any major changes in his financial circumstances took place, the per...