A Zuckerman Spaeder LLP blog dedicated to thoughtful discourse on emerging litigation and investigations issues of the day.
Email | 813.321.8214
Justin R. Cochran’s practice focuses on commercial litigation and white collar defense, including criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. His white collar criminal and government investigation practice includes representing corporate and individual clients in both state and federal government criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Mr. Cochran has represented clients in federal actions involving conspiracy, bank fraud, aviation fraud, health care fraud, environmental crime, securities fraud, and tax fraud.
In our last post, we discussed the recent decision Luis v. United States, in which the Supreme Court held that innocent assets are out of the government’s reach prior to trial. Justice Elena Kagan’s short but notable dissent in Luis addressed the issue of whether the government should be able to reach a defendant’s assets at all, allegedly “tainted” or not, prior to conviction.
Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution provides a defendant has the right to counsel of his or her own choosing. These rights are foundational to our criminal justice system.
However, prior to the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in Luis v. United States, the government was able to undermine these basic rights. In cases involving conspiracy, healthcare fraud, and banking fraud, federal statutes allowed the government to seek a pretrial restraining order preventing defendants from using their innocently obtained assets to retain counsel.
As the regulatory and business environments in which our clients operate grow increasingly complex, we identify and offer perspectives on significant legal developments affecting businesses, organizations, and individuals. Each post aims to address timely issues and trends by evaluating impactful decisions, sharing observations of key enforcement changes, or distilling best practices drawn from experience. InsightZS also features personal interest pieces about the impact of our legal work in our communities and about associate life at Zuckerman Spaeder.
Information provided on InsightZS should not be considered legal advice and expressed views are those of the authors alone. Readers should seek specific legal guidance before acting in any particular circumstance.
Subscribe to receive blog updates via email
