Criminal

Email Updates Blogs
In a recent documentary, “Interpol- who controls the world police?” the German public broadcast service, DW, explores issues affecting INTERPOL’s functioning, independence, and funding.  The documentary addresses a variety of questions that have arisen over the last decade or so as INTERPOL has wrestled with the challenge of assisting its member countries with the enforcement of laws while also attempting to maintain neutrality with respect to its treatment of its member countries.…
On average, people donate more than $2.5 billion each year to over 40,000 American charities with military-related missions. While most of these charities are trustworthy, others prey on Americans’ patriotism and generosity. Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission announced Operation Donate with Honor, a nationwide law enforcement and education initiative aimed at stopping veteran-related charity fraud. Here in Washington, Attorney General Bob Ferguson brought civil enforcement claims against two charities as a part of…
This post is part of our ongoing series translating the lawyer-gibberish of Pennsylvania lawsuits into something understandable. For the definitions of the terms in bold check out the post that launched this series. A list of the all of the posts in the series is at the tail end of this article. So it’s time to go to the Court of Common Pleas. Whether you tried other steps first or elected to start here, today…
Pope Francis has officially changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church this month to condemn capital punishment as “inadmissible” and that the Church will work for “its abolition worldwide.” The Pope has announced a major change in the position of the Catholic Church to the death penalty.  The Catholic Catechism has been formally amended.  From the August 2, 2018 Vatican Press Release, here is the translation provided from Rome: Traduzione in lingua inglese The…
This post is part of our ongoing series exploring the impact of technology on legal issues.  For an introduction to the series and a collection of the posts in the series, check out this post. “Thank you.  We have received your automatic payment.”  “Sign up for automatic bill pay to reduce your student loan interest rate.”  “Ensure your payments are never late!  Sign up to automatically pay your bill.”  “Reminder, monthly payment scheduled.” Those email…
litvak
On Monday, following two reversals of convictions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut moved to dismiss the sole securities fraud claim remaining against former Jefferies bond trader, Jesse Litvak, bringing an end to the 5 1/2-year long case against him.[1]  During the case’s winding procedural path, the Government twice secured convictions against Litvak by jury trial—on the theory that Litvak’s alleged misstatements about his own costs and profit margins for residential…
On December 5, 2016, the law in Pennsylvania as it relates to the required length of separation in order to establish grounds for divorce reduced from two years to one year.  This reduction was highly contested for many years in our legislature and had been proposed on multiple occasions during the last decade.  While the pros and cons of the reduction in the length of separation were argued multiple times, the legislature finally determined that…
drake-and-latoya-cantrell-688x1024.png
Posted on Aug 6, 2018 in Celebrity Justice, Traffic Mayor Cantrell took to Twitter last week to tweet a photo of her posing with rap superstar Drake. Drake was in New Orleans to film the music video for his song “In My Feelings” when the photo was taken. “In My Feelings,” which borrows from the sounds of New Orleans bounce, is currently the number one song in the country. Mayor Cantrell tweeted the photo…
This post is part of our ongoing series translating the lawyer-gibberish of Pennsylvania lawsuits into something understandable. For the definitions of the terms in bold check out the post that launched this series. A list of all the posts in the series is at the tail end of this article. The litigation process often begins before actual litigation. Wait, what? I mean that disputes often involve exchanges before we get in front of the court…
In an effort to streamline litigation in the Commercial Division, the Commercial Division Advisory Council has continued with its revisions to the Commercial Division Rules by recently implementing one new rule encouraging early adjudication on threshold issues, and revising another rule to approve the use of technology-assisted review in discovery.…