Criminal Law: March 2008 Archives

In 2001, Ray Sumrow was named Prosecutor of the Year in Texas. That is quite a distinction in a state which executes more inmates than all of the other states combined. Earlier this week, Sumrow was convicted by a jury of theft by a public servant, reports the Dallas Morning News, for converting $9,652.76 worth of computer equipment and purported business travel expenses for his personal use.

       "A public official, like Caesar's wife, must be above suspicion," the judge told Sumrow, while sentencing him to four years in prison. The Judge also told Sumrow, who is still facing trial on additional charges, including a claim that $68,000 in government expense money was improperly diverted to his personal account, “I'm sure you sent people to prison for far less than the charges against you."

Alan Milstein

The more things change and the more advanced we are with our technology, the more they remain the same. As long as there is any human component whatsoever to a process, there will always be a margin of error. The Washington Post reports today that a government laptop computer containing sensitive medical information on 2,500 patients enrolled in a

Included in the stolen data was seven years' worth of clinical trial data, including names, medical diagnoses and details of the patients' heart scans. The information was not encrypted, in violation of the government's data-security policy.

NIH officials did not publicly disclose the theft and did not formally, in writing, notify the affected patients of the breach in security until last Thursday -- almost a month later.  NIH officialts said they delayed because of concerns that they would provoke undue alarm. Yeah, ya think?

The Washington Post further reported that this month, the Government Accountability Office found that at least 19 of 24 agencies reviewed had experienced at least one breach that could expose people's personal information to identity theft.

John M. Hanamirian

Lewis “Scooter” Libby has been disbarred by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In a terse Opinion, the court reasoned that disbarment is mandatory when a member of the bar is convicted of  a crime of moral turpitude and that perjury and  obstruction of justice are each just such a crime. His friend the President, of course, has commuted his sentence because it was disproportionate to the offence, while offering no such comfort to Marion Jones  who sits in prison away from her seven month old because of a similar conviction for perjury.

Alan Milstein

Here is a transcript of today’s argument before the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller. From the initial reports of observers at the oral argument, it does not look good for the rational view that gun control is necessary to control gun violence.

Alan Milstein

Tuesday morning at 10 am the Supreme Court will hear argument in D.C. V Heller, the most important gun case to reach the Court in half a century. Here is a link to Scotus Wiki which includes everything you need to know about the case. Most legal scholars see the Court doing the right thing and holding that the Second Amendment does not restrict cities like the District of Columbia from passing tough anti-handgun legislation to control the epidemic of murders in this Country.

Where to begin?
 
Soon to be ex-Governor Elliott Spitzer was caught on federal wiretap in what appears to be an "integrity/public corruption investigation". Apparently, Spitzer was involved in what was described as the high-profile "Emporers Club VIP," which was accused last week of offering prostitutes to wealthy clients, some at $5,500 an hour.

The wiretap transcript with Spitzer and "Lewis" (whom allegedly was an agent of the prostitution service) purportedly reads:

Lewis said that "Kristen" would go directly to room 871.

Again, allegedly, the story goes that Client 9 wanted a high-priced prostitute named Kristen to come to Washington on a 5:39 p.m. train from Manhattan. The instructions were that alllegedly, the door to the hotel room would be left ajar and train tickets, cab fare, room service, and the minibar were all on him.

That transportation across state lines created federal jursidiction over the matter because such conduct may be violative of the Mann Act.  Additionally, Spitzer purportedly paid for the prsotitution services through a direct charge to his bank account to a vendor of anonymous origin.  The frequency of those charges and their amount triggered bank officials to notify the Federal government of potentially suspicious activity.

Spitzer said:

"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong,"  "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself."

The case is being handled by prosecutors in the Public Corruption unit of the U.S. Attorneys' Office.  This one is going to go on for awhile.

John M. Hanamirian 

Here is the

Today, I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my — or any — sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much.