Legal Radar

SC: No Hearing for Gupta Insider-Trading Appeal

Early this week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to look into an insider-trading conviction of an ex-director for Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, Rajat Gupta.

The justices didn’t leave any comment on their rejection of Gupta’s appeal on his 2012 conviction for carrying out lucrative insider tips regarding Goldman to a hedge fund owner.

Gupta explained that the trial court failed to carry out evidence of his good moral character as well as other testimony that lacked any motive of him coming such offense.

Once a highly respected corporate director in the country, Gupta was slapped with three counts of insecurities frauds and a single count of conspiring to passing inside information to Raj Rajaratnam, a Galleon Group hedge-fund founder, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence.

In the previous year, the federal Court of Appeals, maintained Gupta’s conviction, affirming the usage of wiretap recordings at the time of the trial. His last resort was to get the Supreme Court to hear the case.

 

Jury Ready to Listen to Testimony of Fiat CEO

A jury is all set and ready to hear out Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV CEO Sergio Marchionne’s testimony in a suit over a 4-year old boy who died in a burning Jeep. This renewed an inquiry of fuel tanks in older sport-utility vehicles that regulators linked to over 50 deaths.

Lawyers representing the boy’s family are suing Chrysler for wrongful death and plan to play video recording deposition of Marchionne sometime this Wednesday or Thursday. The manufacturer of Jeep, Chrysler, is now named FCA US LLC.

The trial, which began early this week in Georgia, comes after a huge U.S. vehicle recalls last year, and public investigation on faulty ignition switches at General Motors Co., and breakage of Takata Corp. air bags.

Jeep’s case may settle before jurors could hear depositions of Marchionne and other employees from Fiat Chrysler, thought it won’t be likely. Jurors looked briefly into Marchionne’s testimony on vehicle safety standards during the attorney opening statement earlier.

So far, Fiat Chrysler has curbed the scrutiny recall acquired by Takata and GM.

Petraeus: Pleading Guilty to Misdemeanor

David Petraeus, an ex-director for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a retired navy general, recently signed court papers that implicates him of being guilty to a misdemeanor charge of improperly handling classified data in exchange of a prosecutor recommendation to not serve prison time..

Petraeus, whose exemplary government intelligence and military career was tainted by an affair with Paula Broadwell, a biographer, subjected him to a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as to whether or not he passed on any unauthorized classified details to her.

Based on the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors won’t be seeking jail time for Petraeus but will be recommended by a judge to carry out two years of probation. This was based on filed court documents early this week at the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C.

Documents indicate Petraeus agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and possession of classified government material.

Federal Charges Dropped Against George Zimmerman

Attorney General Eric Holder said early this week that the Justice Department won’t file federal charges against George Zimmerman, an ex-neighborhood watch volunteer, regarding the 2012 death of Treyvon Martin in Florida.

The acquittal of Zimmerman on Martin’s death, an unarmed black teen, triggered calls by numerous groups including ACLU, NAACP, and countless other to encourage legal action. It was expected that a federal investigation would end up facing plenty of obstacles.

To start the legal battle, federal prosecutors would need to prove that Zimmerman had the racial hatred and motivation when Martin was shot, according to legal experts.

Zimmerman, a Hispanic, shot Martin to death within a gated community in Florida. Prosecutors claimed Zimmerman was profiling Martin as a criminal and creating a physical struggle that led to the teen’s death. Defense attorneys objected by saying Martin was the primary aggressor, punching Zimmerman, scuffing him to the ground, and smashing his head on a walkway.

Teva Spots Possible FCPA Violations

Teva, a pharmaceutical company, indicated in a securities filing that an internal probe revealed business practices to likely have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The drug indicated before it was looking into matters in multiple countries that may lead to a rise of FCPA violations and/or possible violations to local laws, based on a securities filing last year.

Teva said its internal investigation started after receiving subpoenas and further requests on details related to foreign bribery from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the Justice Department beginning in 2012.

The probe revealed business practices and transactions in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Russia which is said to likely violate FCPA and local laws.

Teva previously mentioned that it may end up paying fines in relation to the FCPA investigation. The drug maker also mentioned that its affiliates in specific countries who are being investigated offered local authorities false or altered details on their marketing processes.

Former Dewey Leaders Trial to Begin in April

The Dewey & LeBoeuf trial will have a starting date.

The now-defunct law firm’s three ex-leaders (Steven Davis, Joel Sanders, and Stephen DiCarmine) will appear in court this April 27 to start the trial, which is expected to last up to six months.

All three were accused of accounting fraud as part of a scheme to conceal the true nature of Dewey’s financial status, which led to the firm’s unexpected collapse in 2012. All three claimed to be innocent and are free on bails while awaiting trial.

In a New York Supreme Court early this week, the trio sat quietly while Justice Robert Stolz pressed counsel of both parties for a trial date. Stolz initially wanted a February start but both parties made delay requests.

Davis’ attorney, Elkan Abramowitz, said he’ll wait until he has knowledge of the Bermuda court outcome regarding the amount of insurance available for his client’s defense.

Grand Jury of Ferguson Wants Lifetime Gag Order on Free Speech

A grand jury member in a case of the police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., filed a lawsuit early this week to tear down a gag rule that protects the secrecy of the widely scrutinized proceedings resulting to charges being dropped against a police officer.

The jury member, going under the moniker “Juror Doe,” indicated in the suit that the grand jury in the Darren Wilson case was carried out in a different manner compared to other cases presented during its terms. It also mentioned the county prosecutor not being transparent in conducting the proceedings.

The executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, Jeff Mittman, who also represents the juror, said that such particular facts appear to be unconstitutional in placing a lifetime gag order on the grand jurors.

Mittman also said that the juror won’t pursue commenting on the controversial case since they’ve doing the best they can in respecting the legal process.

NYC Police: First Amendment Right to Protest De Blasio

Do NYC police officers have the First Amendment right to protest against Mayor Bill de Blasio?

William Bratton, NYC’s Police Commissioner, said it was deemed “inappropriate” for police officers to turn against the mayor in a funeral of several slain officers.

While there’s no sign of any of the police officer who took part in the rebuke of the mayor will face sanction, some observers suggested those who protested should face consequences.

Speech rights of public workers are frequently in the legal gray area.

Courts said that government workers have legal rights to speak openly as private citizens on issues concerning the public --- with certain exceptions.

Courts are also considering how free speech can lead to the disruption of government functions. The speech value would need to be measured against its potential disruption.

The Supreme Court has laid general guidelines that looks into free speech rights of public workers.

Union leaders are accusing the mayor for founding an anti-police environment.

Former Madoff Staff Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence

An ex director of operations for Madoff’s firm was served a 10-year prison sentence early this week for aiding a Ponzi schemer to carrying out one of the largest financial frauds in the country’s history.

Daniel Bonventre, who was responsible for spearheading Madoff’s business for nearly 40 years, is the first of several ex-employees to be convicted in assisting and hiding the scheme this week. Early this year, a federal jury in Manhattan found Bonventre guilty in creating false records for Madoff.

Bonventre was asked to forfeit a portion of the $155 billion of funds he solicited and were eventually invested in the firm.

Several Madoff defendants were guilty of conspiracy to defraud investors and securities fraud. Two of them were trading managers while the other two were computer programmers.

Bonventre’s thorough bookkeeping and careful watch allowed him to carry out one of them most effective schemes for the past several decades.

Jury Reaches Verdict on Ferguson Officer Case

A grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., arrived at a decision: Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer, won’t be facing charges in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

There’s a very high chance a majority will never know why it came to be the case. A grand jury, such as the one assigned to the Ferguson trial, are done behind closed doors. The primary reason is let witnesses gain the chance to make a testimony without worrying of reprisal.

One aspect that’s safe to assume is the issue of “use of force” by the officer, which likely came in to minds of the jurors.

It wasn’t disputed the Wilson shot and killed Brown early this year.

The “use of force” vary from one state law to another. Missouri’s current law is considered to be officer friendly compared to other states.

The court believed that the reason for the use of force should be judge from the standpoint of the officer on the scene. Jurors should account that officers are frequently pushed to make last second decisions.