Bradley Heppner likely could have afforded to retain any lawyer of his choosing, having allegedly defrauded investors out of $150 million. But he chose a somewhat different path. Whether it was because he believed himself to be better, or more motivated, than a lawyer, or was just a hands-on kinda guy, who knows. but he
Criminal
AI In The Pentagon’s Hands
It’s impossible not to have Artificial Intelligence, AI, touch your world anymore. How much so may be up in the air, but like it or not, tech’s fear of missing out has caused it to embrace AI, wanted or not. To a large extent, it’s background noise for many of us, with Google AI offering…
Whistleblowing in Focus: Recent Developments, Emerging Issues, and Considerations for Companies (Part Three: Looking Ahead)
By Abena Mainoo & Rahul Mukhi
Introduction[1]
In this three-part series, we first discuss the outlook for whistleblower programs in the United States under the new administration. Second, we review initiatives relating to whistleblower reports in other jurisdictions over the past year. Third, we address emerging issues and considerations for companies regarding whistleblower reports.…
Whistleblowing in Focus: Recent Developments, Emerging Issues, and Considerations for Companies (Part Two)
Introduction[1]
In this three-part series, we discuss the outlook for whistleblower programs in the United States under the new administration. Second, we review initiatives relating to whistleblower reports in other jurisdictions over the past year. Third, we address emerging issues and considerations for companies in relation to whistleblower reports.…
What is a Felony DUI in South Carolina?
By Futeral & Nelson & LLC
For any Charleston DUI lawyer, defending a felony DUI is very challenging, and the stakes are much higher than defending a municipal or magistrate-level DUI, such as a DUI 1st. In South Carolina, felony DUI involves the great bodily injury or death of another person. A felony DUI differs from a DUI in both…
SEC Exam Priorities 2026 Priorities Largely Consistent: Will Approach to Deficiencies and Enforcement Referrals Change?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released its 2026 examination priorities on November 17, 2025 (the “2026 Priorities”). As expected from the new leadership, the 2026 Priorities signal less (but still present) focus on private fund advisers and more focus on retail advisers and emerging technologies such as AI…
Chatbot, The Snitch
It’s unclear whether it’s the fact that people may use the internet and technology without having any real grasp of what their use entails, or that they just don’t care. But with the advent of chatbots, people are seeking legal, medical, sexual, and other interactions that involve their most intimate and personal thoughts, queries and…
Bribes Under Color Of Law
A basic premise of First Amendment law is that the government can’t censor protected speech, but a private entity can for the simple reason that it’s not the government. Sure, the government can coerce a private entity to act, thus making it an agent of the government, but that’s a separate issue. If I choose…
Rounding up a mix of press pieces on a mix of criminal justice matters as summer winds down
By Kelly Burin
I do not know why this platform was down yesterday, but I do know I have seen a wide array of intriguing pieces about matters of crime and punishment in recent days. So, making up for lost blogging time, here is a baker’s dozen list of late-summer reading:
From the ABA Journal, “Throwing food…
"AI thinks you should go to jail, even if you didn't do the crime"
By Kelly Burin
The title of this post is the title of this notable new report from the Justice Innovation Lab authored by Rory Pulvino, Dan Sutton, and JJ Naddeo. Here are parts of the report’s “Introduction”:
[W]e tested ChatGPT (model 3.5-Turbo) on a common legal task: writing a memo about how to handle a criminal case. We…