Four Californians this week have learned a critical lesson in the bear necessities of life and larceny. Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village are accused of a novel fraudulent scheme in which a compatriot donned a bear outfit and pretended to be a wild animal trashing their luxury cars, including a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350. Continue reading “The Bear Necessities of Larceny: Californians Arrested for Fraudulently Staging Bear Rampage”
Category: Criminal law
Below is my column in The Hill on the growing calls for an organized resistance to the Trump Administration by Democratic governors and prosecutors. They may find, however, that the resistance movement this time around will be facing significant legal and political headwinds.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Second Resistance Movement: Why the Campaign Against Trump This Time is Different”
Below is my column in The Hill on the collapse of the lawfare campaigns against Trump. The first to go will likely be the two cases by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who became a lame-duck prosecutor at around 2:30 am last Wednesday. We are also waiting for what is likely to be a reduction or even a rejection of the Trump civil case by Attorney General Letitia James. While Democratic prosecutors are likely to continue, if not ramp up, their lawfare efforts, Trump will enter office with a fraction of the existing legal threats that have dogged him for years. For prosecutors, they are left like the ancient mariner:
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Behold The Flying Dutchman: Trump Prosecutors Find Themselves on Listless Ships Without a Port of Call”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the developments in the pending Trump cases. I previously wrote that, if Trump prevailed in this election, it was likely that Special Counsel Jack Smith would “not see a jury in either of his cases.” This morning, Smith is reportedly in discussions on the possible dropping of his two federal cases against the president-elect. The prosecutorial campaigns appear to be collapsing with the political campaigns against Trump.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Thrill is Gone: Will the Prosectorial Campaigns Collapse with the Political Campaigns Against Trump?”
Yesterday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes became the latest Democratic prosecutor to suggest a possible criminal charge against former President Donald Trump. Mayes suggested that Trump’s controversial statement on Liz Cheney going to war could constitute a criminal threat. It is absurd and Mayes knows that any such charge would collapse before any remotely objective trial judge. Continue reading “No, the Trump Comment on Cheney Was Not a Crime”
This month, there is a new case on the docket after the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The First Circuit reversed a trial court that dismissed the case, alleging that the American firearms industry is legally responsible for violence in Mexico. I believe the First Circuit is dead wrong and will be reversed. However, as a torts professor, there is a question of whether the tort element of proximate cause could be materially changed in the case. Torts professors are already lining up to argue that there is a proximate cause under existing doctrines to hold the firearms industry liable. I respectfully disagree. Continue reading “Over the Border: Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the Supreme Court”
Call it the Mark of Kaine. The heated dispute between the Biden Administration and the State of Virginia just took a curious turn after Virginia lawyers released support for the effort to remove alleged noncitizens from the voting rolls ahead of the presidential election. The main witness against the Biden Administration may prove to be Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) who is on the ballot this election. Continue reading “The Mark of Kaine: The Biden Administration Under Fire for Virginia Lawsuit over Non-Citizen Voter Removals”
In announcing his “Operation Aurora,” former President Donald Trump has suggested that he may use the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798 to crackdown on “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.” The plan to begin mass deportations is certainly popular with the public, according to polling. However, without a declaration of war, he will likely have to look to alternative statutory vehicles for a peacetime operation. There are novel arguments that could be made in federal court, but they run against the presumed meaning of critical terms under the law. The odds do not favor the government in the likely challenges.
Continue reading “No, the Alien Enemies Act is Not a Viable Legal Basis for “Operation Aurora””
It appears that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan and Special Counsel Jack Smith are not done yet in releasing material in advance of the election. In a previous column, I criticized the release of Smith’s 180-page brief before the election as procedurally irregular and politically biased, a criticism shared by CNN’s senior legal analyst and other law professors. Nevertheless, on Thursday, Judge Chutkan agreed to a request from Smith to unseal exhibits and evidence in advance of the election. Continue reading “Adversarial Process or Oppo Research? Judge Agrees To Release More Trump Material Before the Election”
Below is my column in The Hill on the release of the filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith just weeks before the election. Even Judge Tanya Chutkan described the move as “irregular,” but still ordered the release. While the usual voices heralded the move, others, including the CNN senior legal analyst, denounced the release as a raw political act by the court and the Special Counsel. The problem is that it was not in the least bit surprising.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Jack Smith’s October Surprise Was Not That Surprising . . . and that is the Problem”
There was a strange synergy recently as activists from the left and the right were convicted of fraudulent charities to benefit themselves. In our “Age of Rage,” there are many who capitalize on the times to elicit funds for different causes. Prosecutors have secured convictions in two cases where such conduct was alleged in Georgia and Nevada. Continue reading “Activists from the Left and Right Convicted in Two Cases Involving Fraudulent Charities”
Below is my column in the Hill on the rough week for New York Attorney General Letitia James in court. James has campaigned on lawfare and the Democratic New York voters have wildly supported her weaponization of the legal system against Trump and others. Now some judges are balking…
Here is the column: Continue reading “Letitia James May be Winning the Lawfare but Losing the War”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams. The most serious charges may be the foreign campaign contributions and the use of straw man transactions to gain both unlawful contributions and increased matching funds. However, some of these charges are not nearly as overwhelming as suggested by the government. That may be why they are openly threatening Adams associates to cooperate or face ruin.
Here is the column:
Hillary Clinton has long been one of the most anti-free speech figures in American politics, including calling upon European officials to force Elon Musk to censor American citizens under the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA). She is now suggesting the arrest of Americans who spread what she considers disinformation. It is a crushingly ironic moment since it was her campaign that funded the infamous Steele dossier and spread false stories of Russian collusion during her presidential campaign. Presumably, that disinformation would not be treated as criminal viewpoints. Continue reading ““A Better Deterrence”: Hillary Clinton Suggests the Possible Arrest of Americans Spreading Disinformation”
Last January, I received a letter threatening me with a defamation lawsuit if I continued my criticism of Hunter Biden, including allegations of criminal conduct. It all seemed part of a “Legion of Doom” defense hatched by Biden supporters reportedly to target critics and even potential witnesses. I proceeded to write three more columns repeating the claims, but did not hear again from the Biden team. Now, it is the Biden defense that is being targeted with defamation lawsuits. IRS investigators Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler are suing attorney Abbe Lowell over public allegations of criminal conduct on their part. Continue reading “IRS Whistleblowers Sue Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Abbe Lowell for Defamation”