Legal Blog: Federal Crimes

The Effect of No-Knock Warrant Restrictions on Admission of Evidence in Federal Court

By Jonathan Knowles – On April 10, 2021, the Maryland legislature overrode Governor Hogan’s veto to pass three bills dedicated to police reform.[1]  Among the provisions contained in these bills were significant restrictions on police officers’ authority to request a “no-knock search warrant.”  Since the tragic death of Breonna Taylor, other states have implemented similar restrictions and more are likely

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The Scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act After Van Buren

By Jonathan Knowles – We have previously examined United States v. Van Buren, then pending before the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 3, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its opinion interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. The Court limited violations of the Act to access of information that a person is never authorized to

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What Is Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019?

The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 is a new Federal statute designed to impose criminal penalties on those involved in international athletic doping conspiracies. Introduced in the U.S. Senate in 2019 by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, it aims to provide restitution for victims and to require the sharing of information with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The statute provides extraterritorial jurisdiction to

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The Federal False Claims Act: Knowing Is Half the Battle

The False Claims Act, or FCA, is the Federal statute under which fraud against the US Government is prosecuted. The FCA was first enacted during the Civil War in order to combat defense contractor fraud. Since then, it has been amended and updated a number of times to ensure applicability to additional forms of fraud arising from not only government

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What Statutes Can Federal Prosecutors Use to Bring PPP Loan Fraud Cases?

In this article, we discuss the statutes that federal prosecutors are most likely to use to charge individuals in cases related to fraud in connection with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.  This is not an exhaustive review of all potential statutes that might apply, but rather addresses the statutes most likely to be applied. The Federal CARES Act was enacted

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Could I Be Prosecuted for Using Facebook at Work? Supreme Court to Decide.

In April 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Van Buren v. United States.  This case raises questions about what constitutes criminal “computer misuse” under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a).  The petitioner, Mr. Van Buren, was convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a) after accepting a loan in exchange for personal records obtained through a police database.  As a police officer, Mr.

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Sentence Reductions Under the First Step Act

In 2018, Congress passed the reformative First Step Act, commonly called the FSA.  One of the FSA’s reforms allows certain inmates to receive greater reductions for good behavior than was previously possible.  This posts examines the FSA’s changes to earned time credit. Background For many decades, inmates showing progress towards rehabilitation could serve part of their sentences outside of prison

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