Originally published at NACDL | December 20, 2019 Ep.36 – Congress’s Overcriminalization Task Force — The Congressional Task Force on Overcriminalization held its fourth hearing in November. Composed of five Democrats and five Republicans, the Task Force, which awaits reauthorization after its November 30 expiration, was first created on May 7, 2013, by a unanimous vote… Continue Reading
Originally published by the Washington Legal Foundation |September 18, 2019 Over the last two years, the Justice Department and more recently the Treasury Department and increasing numbers of non-US authorities have issued policy statements, guidance documents, and made speeches intending to make white-collar criminal enforcement more transparent. As recent federal prosecutions and consent decrees demonstrate,… Continue Reading
Originally posted by the Cato Institute | November 7, 2017 Prosecutors and other government lawyers who enforce our nation’s laws wield vast power and exercise tremendous discretion with little oversight or accountability. The following panelists have written powerful and often deeply shocking books about their firsthand experiences with that system and the damage it does… Continue Reading
Originally published at The Federalist Society | February 15, 2017 Farha v. United States, currently pending on a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a case study raising basic notions of due process, fair notice, the rule of lenity, mens rea, and whether administrative and civil remedies would be more appropriate. What… Continue Reading
Originally published at The Federalist Society | June 14, 2016 Are federal prosecutors abusing their enforcement powers in the civil and criminal context? The news is increasingly filled with examples of the government taking advantage of vague statutory language and applying powerful prosecutorial tools to questionable ends. On May 25, 2016, the House Subcommittee on… Continue Reading
Originally published by The Federalist Society | September 30, 2015 On October 2, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in United States v. Clay, a case that raises important questions about the nature of regulatory prosecutions. In particular, it presents issues that relate to what conduct constitutes a crime and what mental state… Continue Reading
Originally published at The Federalist Society | July 29, 2015 Is Clay v. United States, currently pending in the 11th Circuit, a case study of overcriminalization and abusive federal prosecution? The case raises basic notions of due process, fair notice, the rule of lenity, mens rea, and actus reus. What began as a highly publicized raid by… Continue Reading