One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply
Cartel Capers
Cartel Capers, published by Connolly Law, focuses on antitrust law with particular attention to criminal antitrust prosecutions, bid rigging, and the application of the Sherman Act. The blog discusses legal defenses related to the per se rule, political influences on antitrust enforcement, and developments in whistleblower reward programs within the antitrust context. It analyzes significant cases, government enforcement actions, and legislative or regulatory changes affecting competition law. The blog also covers procedural and substantive issues in antitrust litigation, including jury instructions, appeals, and the impact of presidential pardons on antitrust cases.
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Per Se Rules Notches Another Labor Market Pretrial Win, But…
The defendants in the aerospace’s labor market allocation case, US v. Patel, No.3-21-cr-220 (D. Conn. Dec. 2, 2022) (VAB), filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on various grounds related to the application of the per se rule…
Listen….
Two items recently in the cartel news caught my eye because they have something in common: the chicken parts criminal price fixing prosecution failures and Donald C. Klawiter’s article calling for A Really New Leniency Program: A…
Announcement: Antitrust Division, USDOJ Recruiting Event for Law Students and Recent Grads
In U.S. v. Topco Associates, Inc., 405 US 596, 610 (1972): Justice Thurgood Marshall famously stated that “[a] ntitrust laws in general, and the Sherman Act in particular, are the Magna Carta of free enterprise.” My shorter, less eloquent version…
It’s Time For A Criminal Antitrust Whistleblower Statute (It Was Time Last Year And The Year Before Too)
The Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association’s 14th International Cartel Workshop took place over June 27-29, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. By all accounts the conference was a success and well attended. The only thing missing was, um, any international…
Don’t be Chicken to Meet–The Case for Preindictment Meetings
If you have been following the price-fixing trials against the chicken industry executives, you know that after failing to convict any of the ten defendants in two previous trials, the Antitrust Division narrowed its case by dismissing five defendants. A…
Per Se Rule: “I’m Still Standing (Yeah yeah yeah!)”
It has become common for defendants indicted on criminal antitrust charges to argue that the use of the per se rule in their trial is unconstitutional. The United States, however, has beaten back each attack with ample precedent from the…
I Was Injured at the ABA Spring Meeting (Joking)
I am in Washington, D.C. for the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting. My excitement that my suit still fits was short-lived as I painfully learned that my shoes do not. I’ve done a bit of walking and developed a nice blister…
AAG Kanter’s Remarks on Division’s Leniency Program Changes
On April 4, 2022 Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter Delivered Opening Remarks at 2022 Spring Enforcers Summit in Washington, DC (here). AAG Kanter’s remarks outlined the Antitrust Division’s approach to merger enforcement explaining, “the Division has a preference for…
Panel Overload? Will My Suits Fit?–ABA and GCR Cartels Conferences
After two plus years of connecting with my colleagues via Zoom I am excited to be heading to Washington D.C. next week for two great competition law programs–the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting and GCR Live–Cartels.
The GCR Live Cartel…