Originally published by Washington Legal Foundation | Feb. 12, 2021 Background Enforcement of environmental, health care, and many other regulatory statutes is left to the discretion of prosecutors to use administrative, civil, or criminal remedies. All too often, that discretion is abused when criminal sanctions are sought when more reasonable administrative or civil remedies would… Continue Reading
Originally posted to Bloomberg Law Insight by Brett Tolman | October 19, 2020 We have too many laws that can land someone in jail. Estimates put the number north of 300,000 federal statutes and regulations that can be criminally enforced, and the consequences of America’s addiction to criminalizing nearly everything are sobering—1 in every 4… Continue Reading
Originally published by Washington Legal Foundation |October 19, 2020 A basic due-process principle for which Washington Legal Foundation has fought for over 40 years is fair notice of one’s responsibilities under the law. Americans can run afoul of hundreds of thousands of laws and regulations, as well as guidance and other informal documents. Government can… Continue Reading
On Monday, Bloomberg Law’s ‘United States Law Week’ section published a compelling column on overcriminalization by former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman. In the piece, Tolman describes the broader problem of overcriminalization and also the specific issue of prosecuting individuals for violating administrative interpretations that Congress never passed into law. An excerpt: A federal prosecution needs… Continue Reading
The Washington Legal Foundation published a Legal Backgrounder by white-collar defense attorney John Lauro on July 16. The article discusses the application of the Chevron doctrine in the criminal law context. In particular, Mr. Lauro analyzes judicial rulings on deferring to agency’s interpretation of a statute and a recent Justice Department policy that henceforth, agency… Continue Reading
Originally published at the Washington Legal Foundation by John Lauro | July 16, 2020 Much has been written about the “Chevron Doctrine” and its impact on administrative law. In Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984), decided over a generation ago, the U.S. Supreme Court established a principle of judicial deference… Continue Reading